MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines used his annual address to Congress on Monday to defend his government’s conciliatory stance toward China and his contentious drug war, which has left more than 6,600 people dead.

Mr. Duterte has come under particular criticism lately over his approach to China, setting off large-scale protests last month when he argued that there was little he could do to assert his country’s sovereignty in the face of Beijing’s military might.

On Monday, the president told lawmakers that dealing with Beijing compelled him “to perform a delicate balancing act.”

Mr. Duterte, who took power in 2016, is halfway through a six-year term. In his speech, he touted various achievements, including his anti-corruption efforts and moves to cut red tape. Mr. Duterte also signed last week a landmark law on sexual harassment, and one finalizing a peace deal with insurgents and establishing an autonomous Muslim homeland in the country’s restive south. But discussion of the country’s tense relations with China and its drug war eclipsed other accomplishments.