China won't 'bully' neighbours over South China Sea, foreign minister says

China will not use its strength to 'bully' its smaller neighbours including the Philippines, its foreign minister said on Monday, as he highlighted the importance of settling disputes in the South China Sea peacefully.

"Stressing only one side's claims and imposing one's own will on the other is not a proper way for neighbours to treat each other and it goes against the oriental philosophy of how people should get along with each other," Wang Yi, the Chinese government's top diplomat, told a virtual forum organised by China's embassy in Manila and a local advocacy group.