Chinese premier, Philippine president reach wide range of consensus

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Monday reached a wide range of consensus in their talks on developing relations between China and the Philippines.

They also attended signing ceremony of a number of cooperation agreements by officials of the two countries at the Malacanang presidential palace here on Monday evening.

The two leaders agreed that China and the Philippines should enlarge friendly exchanges at all levels, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between executive government, parliament, political parties and the military.

They agreed that the two countries should push forward strategic cooperation and work out as soon as possible a common plan of action for Sino-Philippine strategic cooperation.

The two leaders acknowledged the need to strengthen cooperation in railway, electric power and telecommunications in the Philippines, with China ready to provide more preferential treatment to the Philippines in its financing infrastructure projects.

They agreed that the two countries have a wide perspective to carry out agricultural cooperation in which the Philippines welcomes China to support its agro-modernization process through providing aid in introducing agro-products, providing agro- technology, training of agro-professionals and upgrading agriculture equipment.

The two leaders also agreed to encourage financial cooperation between the two countries, including gradual realization of free exchange of currencies of the two countries. They believed that the two countries should carry out cooperation in disaster rescue and prevention fields, and help each other upgrade the capacity of disaster reduction and prevention.

On the issue of the South China Sea, the two leaders said China and the Philippines fully back common development of the South China Sea and encourage trilateral cooperation by China, the Philippines and Vietnam in maritime seismological research in the South China Sea in order to let it obtain substantial results in an early time.

On the issue of security, the two leaders expressed their wish that the two countries deepen defense and security cooperation, strengthen consultations and coordination in non-traditional security fields of fighting terrorism, drugs and transnational crimes.

They agreed that the two countries encourage exchanges and cooperation among their cities, people-to-people exchanges, and cooperation in tourism and education.

They also said that China and the Philippines will seek closer consultation and coordination over major international issues.

The deal signed by the two countries included a framework agreement on expanding and deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation, an agreement on economic and technical cooperation, a framework agreement on provision of concessional loan by China to the Philippines, an agreement on protection of cultural heritage, and three agreements on China providing loan and contracting for building two railway lines in the Philippines.