Chinese President Meets Philippine President

Chinese President Meets Philippine President

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Chinese President Jiang Zemin on October 21 expressed pleasure at the release of Chinese citizen Zhang Zhongyi after being held hostage for two months and thanked the Philippine government, especially Arroyo herself, for their efforts that have contributed to Zhang's release.

Jiang made the remarks when he met with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has attended the just-concluded ninth Economic Leaders Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Arroyo congratulated China on its successful hosting of the APEC meetings and said Jiang is a good host.

She briefed Jiang on the process of Zhang's release, and the efforts being made by the Philippine government to guarantee the safety of Chinese citizens in the Philippines.

Jiang said that terrorism poses a threat to world peace, and that opposition to terrorism of any form is the consensus reached by participants in the APEC meetings, adding that China is ready to cooperate with the Philippines in fighting terrorism.

He expressed gratitude for Arroyo's support for the APEC meetings which he said were successful. And the Chinese president said he expects Arroyo's state visit to China late this month.