Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is on a three-day visit to Tokyo, a trip that Beijing is watching and listening to closely.

Duterte told his Japanese hosts that the Philippines is "open for business". He had dinner with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who said they had "open discussions." Duterte meets Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Wednesday. The trip comes as the Philippines is signalling a pivot away from the United States and toward China. When asked about Duterte's trip to Japan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it supports strong regional relations.

"We hope all countries, especially our neighbours can build healthy and cooperative relations with each other. Such relations are conducive to regional peace and stability, especially when tensions in this area are mitigated, and when bilateral relations between China and the Philippines are fully recovering. We hope this favorable trend can be supported by all relevant parties," Chinese Foreign Minsitry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

Money-wise, Beijing is "taking note" of...Duterte's home province.  Beijing is also keen to know more about Duterte's change in tone towards Washington....Beijing and Manila have competing claims in the South China Sea.An arbitration case earlier this year took a toll on bilateral relations. Japan has worked with the U.S. -- to pressure China to accept the arbitration result...which Duterte himself, has downplayed.