China welcomes the new Philippine president to visit at an early date, the Foreign Ministry said, following reports that a visit is likely to take place in late October.

Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a news conference on Friday that China has said many times that it would welcome a visit by President Rodrigo Duterte, and the two sides are in close communication.

"Differences will exist between any two countries, but ... there is no setback that cannot be overcome in the Sino-Philippine relationship as long as the two countries work to maintain the political will to solve their differences," Lu said.