China's welcome to Duterte is rife with symbolism. I wrote earlier about the intimate handshake given to him by Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister. After that encounter, Duterte was greeted with a bouquet of flowers by a little girl in a red coat.
During the 2008 Beijing Olympics one of the performances were two giant marionettes: a Chinese ancient warrior accompanied by a little girl, symbolising Modern China. The cheerfulness and playfulness of the little girl was said to symbolise "timeless values of caring, peace, and friendship" (Davies, Qin Shihuang's Terracota Warriors...) And in China, red is the color of happiness and good fortune.
Duterte, a Filipino modern warrior, was welcomed by Modern China, in a spirit of caring, peace, and friendship, wishing him happiness and good fortune.
