MADRID — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin agreed in Madrid on Dec 16 to advance bilateral cooperation in oil and gas exploitation.

Their meeting took place on the sidelines of the 14th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Madrid.

Wang spoke positively of the sound development of Sino-Philippine relations, saying China attaches great importance to its ties with the Philippines. He believed that bilateral relations are about to embrace new development opportunities as the two countries celebrate next year the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

According to the Chinese foreign minister, China is ready to work with the Philippines to implement the important consensus reached between the two heads of state, and will actively push for substantive progress in bilateral oil and gas cooperation in accordance with the two countries' memorandum of understanding.

Locsin agreed with assessment, saying that his country is ready to work with China to push for progress in bilateral oil and gas cooperation.