Xinhua News Agency president Cai Mingzhao (R) meets with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's communications secretary Martin Andanar in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 19, 2016. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Xinhua News Agency president Cai Mingzhao met with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's communications secretary Martin Andanar on Wednesday.

Cai called Duterte's China visit a historic event in the China-Philippines relationship.

Duterte and his entourage arrived in Beijing Tuesday evening for his first state visit to China. China is the first country outside ASEAN that the president has visited since taking office in June.

"We hope the visit will be a great success," Cai said.

Cai said Xinhua was ready to work with the Philippine Presidential Communications Operations Office as well as the country's major news outlets, to disseminate more positive information, which will encourage mutual understanding and friendship between the people of the two nations and be advantageous to the development of ties.

Hailing Xinhua as an influential news agency, Andanar extended appreciation for its objective coverage of stories related to the archipelagic state.

The press secretary pledged that the Philippine Presidential Communications Operations Office will boost cooperation with Xinhua and encourage Philippine media outlets to increase exchanges with the Chinese news agency to cement friendship between the Chinese and the Filipino people.