Join our chief correspondent and anchor Pia Hontiveros on Politics As Usual — your weekly political appointment fix.

President Marcos' recent state visit to China is proof of his administration's goal to strengthen Manila's decades-long ties with Beijing.

And in the wake of protests and issues over territorial claims, the president decided to appoint as Philippine envoy a former student activist who eventually became a journalist and chronicled China's transformation into a superpower.

With his full grasp of Chinese history and culture, how will the country's new ambassador steer the two nations' future relations?