MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted Chinese President Xi Jinping’s invitation to visit China in April 2019, yet another sign of growing ties between the South China Sea rivals.

Duterte on Tuesday welcomed Xi in Malacañang for a two-day state visit aimed at further improving the two nations’ ties that had been strained by the bitter maritime dispute.

After emerging from a bilateral meeting with Duterte, Xi revealed that he had invited the Filipino leader to attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in China.

In a joint statement released Wednesday following Xi's visit, the two countries said Duterte had accepted Xi’s invitation.

“The two sides agree that the milestone visit of President Xi Jinping has contributed to the advancement of friendship and cooperation between China and the Philippines,” the joint statement read.

“President Xi Jinping appreciated the warm and friendly hospitality accorded to him and his delegation by President Duterte and the Philippine government, and extended an invitation to President Duterte to attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held in Beijing, China in April 2019. President Duterte accepted the invitation with pleasure.”

If Duterte pushes through with his trip, it would be his fourth time to visit China in his more than two years as president.

Duterte first set foot in China as president in a state visit in October 2016. This was followed by his attendance to the Belt and Road Forum in May 2017 and the Boao Forum in April 2018.

In contrast, Duterte has yet to accept the invitation of the United States, even while he has become more receptive of US President Donald Trump compared to the latter’s predecessor Barack Obama, who he at one point called a “son of a w***e.”

Duterte has sought closer ties with China even as the Philippines has yet to resolve its disputes with the Asian power over the South China Sea.

China is claiming nearly all of the resource-rich strategic waterway, conflicting with partial claims of the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.

It has ignored a July 2016 ruling of a United Nations-backed panel that invalidated its assertion of sovereignty over the waters in response to a Philippine plea.

Duterte has set aside this ruling as he sought to repair ties between Manila and Beijing long frayed over the dispute.

As he pivoted towards China, Duterte tried to distance the Philippines from the US, its long-standing ally, a move partly fueled by Washington’s criticism of his drug war and human rights record.

Xi was the first Chinese president in 13 years to go on a state visit to the Philippines. He left Manila Wednesday afternoon following a visit where he and Duterte agreed to elevate Philippines-China relations to a strategic cooperation.

• READ:Xi wants PH as China’s ‘strategic’ ally