The Philippines-China Economic Partnership Forum, sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of China and the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, was held on June 5 in Manila, the Philippine capital. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo addressed the opening ceremony.

President Arroyo said this is a very important forum, an event following the historic visit of President Hu Jintao to the Philippines last year. On behalf of the Philippine people, she extended the warmest welcome to the Chinese officials and business leaders attending the forum.

After that, President Arroyo held a talk with Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai and asked him to send her regards to President Hu. She said Hu's visit last year pushed the bilateral relations to a new height. The two countries are close, friendly neighbors and the Philippines attaches great importance to the strategic partnership with China and overall economic, trade cooperation with it. In recent years, China, with its fast-moving economy, has benefited other Asian countries including the Philippines, and has become an important trading partner of the Philippines with the fastest growing bilateral trade volume, she said.

For his part, Minister Bo said the Chinese delegation is here just for fulfilling the commitment the two leaders made last year on economic and trade cooperation. The two economies are highly complementary, which leads to great potential for pragmatic cooperation in trade and other fields. The Chinese government encourages and supports corporate investment in the Philippines. Since the two countries enjoy good relations, Bo said, corporate cooperation can fold out in many sectors as the Philippines has market demand while Chinese enterprises have the ability and enthusiasm to invest.

By People's Daily Online