| Hu Jintao Holds Talks with President of the Philippines |
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| 2004-11-28 15:51 |
On the afternoon of September 1, 2004, Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People. The two sides exchanged views in depth on further promoting the deepened development of relations between China and the Philippines and reached important consensus.
Hu Jintao said that in recent years, leaders of the two countries have maintained frequent exchanges of visits, which have strengthened the mutual trust. Economic and trade cooperation between the two sides have also witnessed considerable progress, with remarkable results achieved in the fields of agriculture, infrastructure construction and resources development. Exchanges and cooperation in the areas of culture, tourism, and fighting against transnational crimes have been continuously expanding and the two sides have maintained good coordination in international as well as regional affairs. Relations between China and the Philippines have entered a new stage featured by comprehensive development.
Arroyo said, "China is the first country that I visit after my re-election as President of the Philippines and I am thankful to the Chinese government and people for the friendly support and assistance to the Philippines over the years". She also spoke highly of the mutually beneficial cooperation between the countries in all areas, making special reference to Chinese hybrid rice introduced in the Philippines, which has doubled the income of local farmers and greatly boosted development of the local economy of the Philippines.
Hu expressed appreciation to the government of the Philippines for its adherence to the one-China policy and the importance it attaches to relations with China. He indicated that China stands ready to work together with the Philippines so as to boost the development of the good-neighborly partnership between the two countries featured by mutual trust in an all-round way:
First, the two sides should maintain contacts between top leaders of the two countries and dialogue and exchanges at all levels, enhance the consultation and cooperation mechanism between the two governments as well as different government agencies, and jointly hold the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries so as to further carry forward the traditional friendship between China and the Philippines.
Second, the two sides should expand economic and trade cooperation, upgrade the trade structure and maintain the momentum of the rapid growth of the bilateral trade. Particularly, the two sides should deepen cooperation in such fields as agricultural technology and equipment and quality produce varieties, and expand cooperation in infrastructure construction and resources development.
Third, the two sides should enhance exchanges and cooperation in the areas of culture, education and tourism, improve the security cooperation mechanism between the two countries and promote judicial assistance in order to combat transnational crimes more effectively.
Fourth, the two sides should appropriately address specific issues in bilateral relations and be each other's good neighbor, good friend and good partner forever.
Arroyo said that the friendly exchanges between the two peoples have enjoyed a history of up to one thousand years and the current bilateral cooperation has reached an unprecedented level. It is a firm belief of the Philippines that China, as a friendly neighbor, holds vital importance for development of the Philippines. Arroyo fully agreed to the specific proposals that Hu Jintao made on pushing forward with the development of the bilateral good-neighborly partnership of mutual trust in an all-round way, saying that she would instruct relevant departments of her country to actively implement the proposals together with China. With regard to the Taiwan issue, Arroyo noted that she fully understands its significance to China and the Philippines resolutely adheres to the one-China policy.
When talking about the establishment of the China-ASEAN free trade area, Hu Jintao said that to establish the free trade area is a strategic decision the two sides made by taking into consideration the overall situation of the long-term development of China-ASEAN relations and is a mutually beneficial arrangement, hoping that the two sides will make concerted efforts to accelerate the negotiation process so as to reach consensus at an early date and launch the establishment of the area as scheduled in a bid to make active contributions to boosting Asian regional cooperation.
Arroyo expressed her agreement to Hu Jintao's views and held that with the joint efforts by the two sides, relevant negotiations will surely be able to make continuous progress.
Following the talks, the two heads of state attended the signing ceremony of the agreement on fishery cooperation, the implementation program of the agreement on tourism cooperation between the two countries and other bilateral cooperation documents.
Prior to the talks, President Hu Jintao held a welcoming ceremony for President Arroyo's visit to China at the square outside the East Gate of the Great Hall of the People. President Hu Jintao's wife Liu Yongqing, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress Raidi, State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Xu Kuangdi, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party Sang Guowei, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai and some other officials attended the welcoming ceremony.
(Information from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PRC)
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Bilateral Visits