China's aid to Philippines has no strings attached: FM

BEIJING - China's aid and support to the Philippines have no strings attached, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks at a routine news briefing when asked for comments on media reports on alleged conditions attached to China's loans to the Philippines.

"China never has and never will ask relevant countries to use natural resources as security for a loan. China's aid and support to the Philippines have no strings attached," Geng said.

According to the spokesperson, China strongly supports Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's "Build, Build, Build" infrastructure campaign and has provided financing support.

Properly handling the South China Sea issue is the basis and important guarantee of the healthy and smooth development of China-Philippines relations, said Geng. However, China will not connect this issue with bilateral economic and trade cooperation projects.

"China is willing to work with the Philippines to implement the consensus reached between high-level leaderships of the two countries, and properly handle disputes through dialogue and negotiations," Geng said.