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President Jiang Calls for Closer Ties with Philippines
Chinese and Philippine President Meet in Beijing
China hopes to develop a long-term stable friendship with the Philippines on the basis of good-neighborly cooperation as well as mutual trust and mutual benefit, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said Tuesday afternoon when meeting visiting Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The two presidents exchanged views on bilateral relations and other issues of common concern, and reached a consensus on a number of issues.
The Chinese and Philippine peoples have had a time-honored friendly relationship since the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), Jiang said.
Since the two countries established diplomatic relations 26 years ago, Jiang said, they have carried out concrete exchanges and cooperation, which have benefited both peoples.
In order to further enhance bilateral relations with the Philippines in the new century, Jiang proposed that China welcomes various personages from the Philippine government and parliament as well as academic and journalistic circles while keeping continuous visits and contacts by the two countries' leaders.
Jiang also proposed that the two countries deepen their cooperation in trade, agriculture, investment, poverty elimination, information technology, telecommunications, tourism, justice, and fisheries and to crackdown on multinational crime.
As for the disputes remaining between the two countries, Jiang continued, the two sides should calmly and properly deal with these issues, not allowing them to undermine the bilateral friendship and basic interests of the two peoples.
Both developing countries, China and the Philippines extensively share common interests in international and regional affairs, Jiang said.
Under the current world situation, the two sides should strengthen communication and cooperation in international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), he said.
After it steps into the WTO, China will further open its domestic market to worldwide competitors. China would like to see Philippine enterprises invest in China, especially in the western region, Jiang said.
At the same time, Jiang said, the Chinese government will encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines.
Arroyo said she agrees with Jiang's proposal on enhancing the bilateral relations. She said the Philippines is willing to develop a long-term, healthy and extensive friendship with China.
Arroyo said the bilateral cooperation has great potential and prospects. The Philippines wants to intensify mutual trust between the two countries.
The Philippine president highly values the modernization drive made by the Chinese people. She said that China has become a main force pushing forward world peace and stability.
China's entry into the WTO will not only benefit the world economy but also provide a good opportunity for trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, she said.
Philippine President Calls for Further Economic Cooperation with ChinaWith China's impending entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), both the Philippines and China will further their cooperation and exchanges in agriculture, electronics and manufacturing as well as in the service industry, said Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Tuesday.
Arroyo made the remarks at a China-Philippines Business Forum. The Philippines and China began their ties including close business links during the Chinese Song Dynasty (960-1279), Arroyo said. She hopes that more Chinese corporations will set up business in the Philippines, and called on Philippine enterprises to enter the Chinese market.
China has drawn much worldwide attention because of the momentum of its economic development and is playing an active role in the process of economic globalization, she said.
In an effort to draw more foreign investors including the Chinese, the Philippine government is now making regulations and taking measures to improve its infrastructure, she said.
As a country with a large rural population, she said, the Philippines received much help from China for its agricultural modernization. China has provided the Philippines with advanced agricultural machinery and its own hybrid rice technology, she said, adding that the Philippines wishes to strengthen cooperation with China in water treatment systems and rural road construction.
Yu Xiaosong, president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, also addressed the forum. "Sino-Philippine economic and trade relations have been developing steadily since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1975," Yu said.
"The bilateral trade volume reached 3.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2000, an increase of 37 percent from 1999," he said.
He also mentioned a business council between China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose first meeting is to be held in Indonesia next month. "I believe this
institution will bring cooperation between China and ASEAN as well as China and the Philippines to a new level," he said.
China, the Philippines Sign Eight Documents of Cooperation China and the Philippines signed Tuesday a Sino-Philippine treaty on extradition and other seven documents of cooperation.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin and the visiting Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo oversaw the signing after their official talks held at the Great Hall of the People.
The governments between the two countries signed two memorandum of understanding (MOU) on striking against transnational crimes and on combating illegal drug trafficking, the random use of narcotics and strengthening supervision on chemicals which may allow easy drug making.
Chinese and Philippine sports authorities signed a MOU for promoting sports exchanges.
The foreign ministries between the two countries exchanged notes on the establishment of the Philippine consulate-general in Shanghai.
Trade promotion departments between the two countries signed two agreements for boosting two-way trade.
A Chinese company signed an agreement on offering loans for the construction of a pumping station in the Philippines.
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