Special Report: Premier Wen visits Philippine, attends China-ASEAN meetings
    MANILA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met hereon Tuesday with Philippine Senate President Manny Villar and House Speaker Jose de Venecia.

    Wen said that China and the Philippines are good neighbors and cooperative partner. He said that in an era of economic globalization and regional integration, the ties between China and the Philippines have never been as solid as they are now, and common interests of the two countries have never been as wide as they are today.

    He suggested that the two sides stand on a strategic height to look at and handle bilateral relations with a wider perspective.

    The Premier said it is a demand of the time and common desire of the people of the two countries for China and the Philippines to establish a strategic partnership dedicated to peace and development.

    He said China will stick to its foreign policy of "maintain friendly neighborly relations and regard all neighbors as good partners", and will increase mutual trust with the Philippines to strengthen cooperation and push forward bilateral relations.

    Wen said that his visit to the Philippines is fruitful and that he has reached a wide range of consensus with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as for how to widen and deepen bilateral cooperation.

    He said both he and President Arroyo agreed to quicken the drafting of a joint action plan for Sino-Philippine strategic cooperation, in order to better plan long-term cooperation between the two countries.

    Wen said that government bodies of the two countries have just signed a number of important documents of cooperation, which he said will surely lift to a higher level cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

    The Premier said exchanges between lawmaking bodies or legislatures of the two countries make up an important part of bilateral relations, and are playing an important role in strengthening mutual understanding and pushing forward bilateral cooperation.

    Both Villar and De Venecia expressed satisfaction with the current development of Filipino-Chinese relations, which are keeping momentum of cooperation in many fields, including those of political parties and legislatures.

    They said the visit to the Philippines by Premier Wen has instilled new dynamics into bilateral relations.

    They also expressed their hope that the Philippines and China will learn from each other and help each other in social and economic development of both countries, and said that both houses of the Philippine Congress fully back development of relations with China.