It was a fleeting handshake, but one that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr made sure was caught on camera.
On November 1, Marcos approached Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Apec handover ceremony in Gyeongju, South Korea, to offer his congratulations as Beijing assumed the trade bloc’s 2026 chairmanship.
A Filipino photographer was on hand to capture the moment with a picture Marcos later shared on social media.
“I congratulated President Xi,” Marcos wrote in the accompanying post. “And reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to partnership and meaningful cooperation in our region.”
In comments to reporters afterwards, the Philippine president described the gesture as a matter of “common courtesy”.
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