section_path: Post-presidency (2022–present)/2023 visit to China
section_name: 2023 visit to China
paragraph_text: 2023 visit to China
  
  In July 2023, amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Duterte to Beijing. During the meeting, Xi asked Duterte to "play an important role" in improving Philippine-China relations, which were rapidly deteriorating under the Marcos administration that sought to gravitate towards the United States by expanding the number of bases American troops can access under the EDCA. As the meeting did not involve the Marcos administration, the event gained much attention, and the administration wanted details of the Xi-Duterte discussion. Duterte visited Malacanang Palace later and, in a closed-door session, discussed the matter with Marcos, though no further details were provided to the media.