“I announce my separation from the United States," Rodrigo Duterte says. | AP Philippine President Duterte announces separation from U.S.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared Thursday that he’s breaking from the United States, saying that he is strengthening ties with China and that America “lost.”

“I announce my separation from the United States," said Duterte in Beijing, where he’s meeting with business leaders and elected official. "I have separated from them. So I will be dependent on you for all time. But do not worry. We will also help as you help us."


China and the Philippines will sign $13.5 billion in deals this week and the two sides agreed to resume a dialogue on their dispute over the South China Sea, officials also said Thursday.

The move for bilateral talks was a diplomatic victory for Beijing several months after an arbitration tribunal invalidated China's expansive territorial claims over the resource-rich waters in a case put forward by the Philippines.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as part of a charm offensive aimed at seeking trade and support from the Asian giant by setting aside the thorny territorial dispute.

Duterte hailed a warming of relations with China and said ties between them go back centuries.

"China has been a friend of the Philippines and the roots of our bonds are very deep and not easily severed," he told Xi in his opening remarks. "Even as we arrive in Beijing, close to winter, this is a springtime of our relationship," he added.

Xi said the meeting had "milestone significance." In a reference to the South China Sea tensions, Xi said that "although we have weathered storms, the basis of our friendship and our desire for cooperation has not changed."

Following the talks, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told reporters that the leaders only touched on the topic briefly during their talks.

"Both sides agreed that the South China Sea issue is not the sum total of the bilateral relationship," Liu said.

The two sides agreed to return to the approach used five years ago of seeking a settlement through bilateral dialogue, he said.

While not mentioning the South China Sea specifically, Xi said that the two sides could set aside "issues on which an agreement is hard to reach" in their discussions, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Philippine diplomats could not be immediately reached for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.

