Beijing welcomes former Philippines president Fidel Ramos' visit to China and is looking forward to seeing the special envoy as soon as possible, foreign spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday.

Mentioning that Ramos was on a private visit to Hong Kong to meet his "old Chinese friends", Hua said that China stuck to an open attitude towards all means of contact between China and the Philippines.

The spokeswoman called on the two sides to make joint efforts to improve bilateral ties, restore dialogue and cooperation, and push forward the healthy and stable development of China-Philippines ties.

Ramos, 88, started a five-day trip to Hong Kong from Monday, during which he said he would meet "old friends" with links to officials in Beijing.

Ramos defined the trip as "ice-breaking", after bilateral ties were jeopardized by an arbitration case unilaterally initiated by Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.

During his time as president, from 1992 to 1998, the two countries eased tensions caused by confrontations over the Meiji Reef.

anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn