This year marks the45th anniversary of theestablishment of China-Philippines diplomaticties. After some ups anddowns in recent years, thebilateral relationship hassettled into a consistentlyexpanding trend of intensivedevelopment. In a 2018 statevisit to the Philippines,Chinese President Xi Jinpingjoined President Duterte inagreeing on the establishmentof comprehensive strategicpartnership between the twocountries, perceived by manyto be a sign like a rainbow afterrain.The year 2020 also bringsthe Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) to its 7th year. Inspiredby the ancient terrestrial andmaritime Silk Road, the grandinternational developmentprogram started in 2013 withtwo speeches delivered byPresident Xi in Kazakhstanand Indonesia respectivelybefore blooming across 125countries and 173 cooperationagreements and attractinginvolvement from 29international organizations.The five-pronged connectivitystrategy involving policy,facilities, trade, finance andpeople-to-people exchangehas evolved into a large-scalecooperation pattern featuringsix economic corridors androutes served by numerousports in multiple countriesas far away as Africa, LatinAmerica and the SouthPacific.