17 April 2004, Kildare, Ireland – Meeting at the sidelines of the 6th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM-FMM), Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo-Albert and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing agreed to commemorate 30 years of RP-China relations by establishing new milestones in their relationship, particularly in the areas of trade, culture and the fight against transnational crimes. Both ministers gave particular emphasis to the importance of bringing Chinese investors and development assistance to Mindanao.

“We both acknowledged the excellent state of our relations. But we also agreed that there is much more that we can do and that we would mark our relations, which will be 30 years in June 2005, with even more milestones in concrete areas of cooperation,” the Secretary said after her meeting with Minister Li. “This early, we will be making preparations to mark this significant event,” she added.

“Minister Li was particularly interested in investment and trade opportunities in the Philippines. Even as we spoke, a Chinese investment mission was in Mindanao, particularly in BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East Asia Growth Area),” the Secretary said.

Both ministers also reiterated their common desire for peaceful activities and peaceful approaches to the issue of the South China Sea. “We re-emphasized our adherence to the Declaration on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and agreed to explore more avenues of cooperation in the area,” according to Secretary Albert.

Minister Li also thanked the Philippines for supporting the Six-Party talks on the issue of the Korean Peninsula, which is being led by China. “China has been doing our region and the world a great service by helping seek a peaceful solution to the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula. I told Minister Li that we strongly support their efforts and that China’s leadership and wisdom will be key to solving this difficult issue,” the Secretary said. Before the meeting ended, Minister Li invited Secretary Albert to visit China. “I gladly accepted his kind invitation to visit China and he also accepted my invitation for him to visit the Philippines,” Secretary Albert said. END