MANILA -- President Rodrigo Roa Duterte will participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-China Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Dialogue Relations on November 22 via video conference, a Palace statement said Saturday.

Upon the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Duterte will join his ASEAN counterparts to take stock of the achievements of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations over the past three decades and chart the future of the partnership for the next 30 years.

The Special Summit will be co-chaired by President Xi and Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, the ASEAN Chair for 2021.

President Duterte is expected to articulate Philippine positions on key areas of cooperation and regional issues during the summit.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, Senator Christopher Lawrence Go, Presidential Assistant for Foreign Affairs Robert E.A. Borje and Social Welfare Undersecretary Luzviminda Ilagan are expected to join the President.

Since establishing the dialogue relationship in 1991, China and the ASEAN have forged the largest trading partnership, the most substantial cooperation partnership and the most dynamic strategic partnership.

Both sides have built the biggest free-trade zone among developing countries with bilateral trade volume increasing 85 fold over the past 30 years.

China is also a major source of much-needed COVID-19 vaccines and emergency medical supplies to ASEAN member states as the Asian region grapples to contain the coronavirus. (PND)