The appointments of two special envoys to the People’s Republic of China is a gesture of the government as both countries are embroiled in the Panatag Shoal dispute, a Palace official said.

During the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Thursday, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that the Philippines is not confined to a single level of relation with China and has been exploring other areas of common interest.

“We have different levels of exchanges or rather relations with China.

We’re not only confined to a situation that is very prominent right now, which is the Panatag Shoal standoff,” Lacierda.

“We have several levels of relationships with them and these are levels that we are emphasizing. “As you see, we have the cultural, we have business, and we have tourism,” he stressed.

China is a vast country and the Philippines needs special envoys in the absence of an ambassador as President Benigno S. Aquino III looks for one. Designating an ambassador would take some time, Lacierda explained and an appointee must undergo confirmation before the Commission on Appointments.

The President appointed Cesar Zalamea, who is known to have extensive contacts in China, Lacierda said adding that the President asked him to be the country’s special envoy to actively seek out Chinese investors.

The Chief Executive also designated Domingo Lee to get the support of the Filipino business community and the Filipino-Chinese community as well as to persuade a greater number of Chinese tourists to come to the Philippines, Lacierda said.

According to Lacierda, there are around 800,000 Filipino tourists going to China and 200,000 Chinese tourists visiting the Philippines.

“We would like to explore all avenues of our relationships not only to focus on the contentious one. And as we’ve always stated, we believe that insofar as the Panatag Shoal standoff is concerned, we are actively seeking a peaceful resolution,” he said.