Despite the clarification, the tough-talking president kept up on his tirades against the U.S., saying in a late-night speech in his southern hometown of Davao city that he would never travel to America “in this lifetime.”

At an economic forum Thursday in Beijing, where he made a state visit, Duterte declared “my separation from the United States ... both in military and economics also.” His pronouncement was met with applause, but Duterte did not explain what he exactly intended to do and when. “In this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States,” Duterte told Chinese and Philippine business people, to applause, at a forum in the Great Hall of the People attended by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli. “I’ve realigned myself in your ideological flow and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to (President Vladimir) Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world - China, Philippines and Russia. It’s in the best interests of my country that I don’t do that,” Duterte told reporters in his hometown of Davao after returning from China. On visit to China the leader repeats his denunciation of Barack Obama as a ‘son of a whore’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

President Rodrigo Duterte met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping Thursday, state media said, as the Philippines’ leader seeks closer ties with the Asian giant while blasting his US allies. During a speech addressing the Filipino community in Beijing Wednesday, the firebrand president said the Philippines had gained little from its long alliance with the US, its former colonial ruler. "America is very friendly and a very long (term) friend of Filipinos."
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte says he plans to cut ties with his country's former colonial ruler, the United States, while strengthening ties with China.