¡¡BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who has been in Cebu, the second largest city of the Philippines, for series of meetings, will start a visit to the Southeast Asian nation on Monday.

    The following are basic facts about the Philippines.

    The Republic of the Philippines lies in Southeast Asia. It is an archipelago of some 7,107 islands, with a land area of around 333,000 sq km and a coastline of 18,533 km.

    The climate of the country is generally tropical, with two distinct seasons: dry and rainy.

    The country consists of three major island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, with Metro Manila as its capital.

    It has a population of around 80 million, at least 80 percent of whom belong to the Roman catholic faith.

    The country is a constitutional democracy, with the president elected as head of state. The incumbent president is Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who took office on Jan. 20, 2001.

    Major trading partners of the country include Britain, China, Japan, Singapore, the Netherlands and the United States.

    China and the Philippines established diplomatic relations on June 9, 1975. Bilateral relations have been developing smoothly ever since.