Visiting Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and Philippine President Joseph Estrada agreed in Manila on November 26 on strengthening their countries' cooperation in various fields.

In their talks on the first day of Zhu's visit, Estrada said Zhu's trip shows that both countries attach importance to the bilateral relationship. He expressed satisfaction over the Philippine-Chinese ties.

Estrada said both his country and China are Asian countries sharing a lot of common views and aspirations for peace and prosperity. He reiterated that the Philippine side wants to strengthen relations with China in a continuous way and is determined to increase understanding, friendship and cooperation with China.

The Philippines hopes to work out with China a framework document oriented toward the next millennium on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year as a guideline for the bilateral friendship.

He also said his country is willing to expand the common ground between the two countries while not stressing their differences. The Philippine side pledges its strict adherence to the existing bilateral agreement on building mutual trust in the South China Sea, without taking any action that would make the situation complicated. The Philippine side is also committed to the solution of the existing differences through bilateral consultation, the president added.

Recalling the traditional friendship between the two peoples, Premier Zhu said remarkable progress has been made in bilateral cooperation in various fields. He reiterated that China wants to establish a long-term and stable friendship of good neighborliness and further extend and deepen the cooperation with the Philippines.

Zhu put forward a five-point proposal for the development of Sino-Philippine ties, which includes the promotion of contacts and exchanges between all sectors and at all levels and the invitation of Estrada to visit China next year.

The premier agreed on the need of a framework document for the bilateral cooperation in the next century, saying the agricultural sector is the top priority.

On the differences between the two sides on the South China Sea, Zhu said China's consistent stand is to seek a peaceful solution through negotiations and not to let the problem have adverse impact on the overall Sino-Philippine relationship.

Estrada said he agreed with Zhu's proposal.

On intra-East Asia cooperation, Zhu said the upcoming informal summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and South Korea scheduled for Sunday is the only and very important channel for exchanges of views among East Asian leaders on regional cooperation.

ASEAN, which was formed in 1967, now groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Zhu said the 10+3 summit will surely be a success marked with dedication to expanding common ground and strengthening cooperation among the participating countries.

Present at the Zhu-Estrada talks were Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Agriculture Minister Chen Yaobang on the Chinese side and the Philippine secretaries in charge of labor, science and technology and tourism. (Xinhua)