Beijing seeking to improve Manila ties

Beijing-Manila relations will "return to the right track of healthy development" if the two sides work together toward the goal, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Zhao Jianhua, the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, visited Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, according to a statement by the ministry.

The visit came five days before the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague is scheduled to announce its ruling in the arbitration case on the South China Sea dispute between the two countries.