The Philippine president paid his first state visit to China earlier this week. Beijing and Manila released a joint statement near the end of this trip.

Handling the South China Sea issue is one of the most significant outcomes of Duterte’s visit.

The Asian neighbors agreed to return to the approach used five years ago of seeking a settlement through bilateral dialogue to solve the maritime dispute on the South China Sea.

Now with the full restored bilateral ties, they would also start pragmatic cooperation again and restore diplomatic consultation, defense and security consultation and political party and congress exchanges.

That mean a new chapter of bilateral relations. So Duterte’s visit gives China a good chance to make good on its argument that Asian diplomacy without the intervention of outside parties can be win-win – even for those who have territorial disputes.