President Cesar Ubaldo,

Friends of the Rotary Club,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased and honored to meet my new and old friends once again at the Manila Rotary Club luncheon today. Let me begin by expressing my sincere thanks to President Cesar Ubaldo and other friends of the Club.

As we all know, this year marks the 30th anniversary of China-Philippines diplomatic ties, and our governments and peoples are now celebrating this important event in both countries. Therefore, it is of special significance for me and friends of the famous Manila Rotary Club, who are the cream de la cream of the Philippines, to celebrate together this important anniversary of our two countries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

China and the Philippines are close neighbors with a long history of traditional friendship. More than 500 years ago, Sultan of Sulu visited my country by enduring untold hardship and difficulties, leaving behind many touching stories. Last month, three descendants of the Sultan in China came back to their homeland to renew their friendship with Filipinos, the sentimental scenes still remaining fresh in the minds of many people. Recently, 100 Filipino young people including one Club member made their first trip to China, to establish amicable ties with Chinese youth. Before the end of this year, 100 young Chinese will be visiting this country, to plan together with young Filipinos for our bright future. If we say, Sultan of Sulu started the official contacts with the Chinese Government 500 years ago, then the exchange of visits by the 200 young Chinese and Filipinos are certainly opening the gateway leading to the future friendship of our two countries.

If compared with the time-honored Sino-Filipino ties of over 1000 years, 30 years are really nothing but a split second. However, the past 30 years are most important years in our bilateral history because during which we have made unprecedented achievements in our relations.

First, frequent exchanges of visits between our leaders have enhanced our political trust. Since 1975, all the presidents of the Philippines visited China, and Chinese leaders such as Jiang Zhemin, Li Peng, Zhu Ronji, Qiao Shi and Wu Bangguo also visited your country. President Arroyo and President Hu Jintao visited China and Philippines separately in September last year and April this year, thus promoting our bilateral relations to a new high. Our two Presidents agreed last April to establish a strategic and cooperative relationship for peace and development.

Second, bilateral trade has grown rapidly while trade and economic cooperation has further diversified. In 1975, our total trade volume was only 65 million USD, and reached 13.3 billion last year, increased by over 200 times and with 5 billion trade surplus for the Philippines. In the first 5 months this year, our trade reached 6.1 billion USD, an increase of 32% with 2.6 billion USD in favor of this country. We are confident that the target of raising our trade to 30 billion USD by 2010, as set by our two Presidents, will certainly be met. Our cooperation in such fields as agriculture, infrastructure and fishery is developing further while mining cooperation has also made fresh progress.

Third, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation are intensifying while military exchanges are also increasing. Since 1975, our two countries have signed 13 bi-annual plans of cultural cooperation and held 13 joint meetings on scientific and technological cooperation, identifying 244 cooperation projects. Sister relations have also been established between 12 pairs of provinces and cities of our countries. In recent years, increased bilateral military exchanges have also helped to enhance the mutual trust between our armed forces. Defense Secretary Cruz visited China last November and the two countries held their first defense and security consultation this year, formally activating our bilateral consultation mechanism on defense and security issues.

Fourth, tourism is increasing rapidly both ways and two countries are cooperating closely on international issues. Last year, 550,000 Filipinos visitedChina and over 100,000 Chinese tourists also visited this country, showing an increase of nearly 4 times over that of the year before. There are now over 600 Filipino young people and more than 500 Chinese studying in China and the Philippines. China and the Philippines are also consulting and cooperating with each other closely on regional and international issues. Thanks to our joint efforts, China, the Philippines and Vietnam signed an agreement on cooperation in the South China Sea, signifying a historic step toward joint development in this disputed area.

Our 30 years of diplomatic ties have shown that political trust constitutes an important foundation of our bilateral ties, mutual-beneficial cooperation provides a strong driving force for developing our relations, and maintenance of peace and promotion of joint development are the strategic goals of our friendly relations and cooperation. Looking back over the past 30 years, I may conclude the following:

-- One, to develop the relations between China and the Philippines, which are neighboring countries separated only by a trip of water and has a long history of friendship, is not only consistent with the wishes of our two peoples but also in conformity with the fundamental interests of our two nations.

-- Two, we shall certainly overcome all difficulties and bring our amicable ties to a new high by enhancing mutual understanding and trust, and with concerted efforts.

-- Three, the Sino-Filipino friendship, not directed against any other third country, and consistent with the historical trend of maintaining peace and promoting development, will not only be beneficial to our two countries but also be conducive to promoting peace and development in our region.

-- Four, the development of our bilateral ties has demonstrated that the growth of China will not impose any threat to our neighboring countries, and on the contrary, it will bring to our neighbors a vast potential market and rare development opportunities.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As developing nations, China and the Philippines share the same primary task of promoting economic growth and making our people more prosperous. Our two countries can achieve this noble goal and bring tangible benefits to our peoples by learning from each other and supporting each other in promoting our bilateral economic and trade cooperation in increasingly wider areas.

We have passed 30 years in our relations and are now entering a golden age of development. I am confident, China-Philippine relations, built on the solid foundation over the past 30 years and strengthened with our time-honored amicable relations, will develop more vigorously and continuously.

May I now take this opportunity to thank sincerely all our friends present here today for your valuable efforts in promoting our bilateral relations and hope all of you will continue to support and contribute more to our friendship and cooperation as well as to the happiness of our two peoples.

Thank and Mabuhay!

President Cesar Ubaldo,

Friends of the Rotary Club,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased and honored to meet my new and old friends once again at the Manila Rotary Club luncheon today. Let me begin by expressing my sincere thanks to President Cesar Ubaldo and other friends of the Club.

As we all know, this year marks the 30th anniversary of China-Philippines diplomatic ties, and our governments and peoples are now celebrating this important event in both countries. Therefore, it is of special significance for me and friends of the famous Manila Rotary Club, who are the cream de la cream of the Philippines, to celebrate together this important anniversary of our two countries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

China and the Philippines are close neighbors with a long history of traditional friendship. More than 500 years ago, Sultan of Sulu visited my country by enduring untold hardship and difficulties, leaving behind many touching stories. Last month, three descendants of the Sultan in China came back to their homeland to renew their friendship with Filipinos, the sentimental scenes still remaining fresh in the minds of many people. Recently, 100 Filipino young people including one Club member made their first trip to China, to establish amicable ties with Chinese youth. Before the end of this year, 100 young Chinese will be visiting this country, to plan together with young Filipinos for our bright future. If we say, Sultan of Sulu started the official contacts with the Chinese Government 500 years ago, then the exchange of visits by the 200 young Chinese and Filipinos are certainly opening the gateway leading to the future friendship of our two countries.

If compared with the time-honored Sino-Filipino ties of over 1000 years, 30 years are really nothing but a split second. However, the past 30 years are most important years in our bilateral history because during which we have made unprecedented achievements in our relations.

First, frequent exchanges of visits between our leaders have enhanced our political trust. Since 1975, all the presidents of the Philippines visited China, and Chinese leaders such as Jiang Zhemin, Li Peng, Zhu Ronji, Qiao Shi and Wu Bangguo also visited your country. President Arroyo and President Hu Jintao visited China and Philippines separately in September last year and April this year, thus promoting our bilateral relations to a new high. Our two Presidents agreed last April to establish a strategic and cooperative relationship for peace and development.

Second, bilateral trade has grown rapidly while trade and economic cooperation has further diversified. In 1975, our total trade volume was only 65 million USD, and reached 13.3 billion last year, increased by over 200 times and with 5 billion trade surplus for the Philippines. In the first 5 months this year, our trade reached 6.1 billion USD, an increase of 32% with 2.6 billion USD in favor of this country. We are confident that the target of raising our trade to 30 billion USD by 2010, as set by our two Presidents, will certainly be met. Our cooperation in such fields as agriculture, infrastructure and fishery is developing further while mining cooperation has also made fresh progress.

Third, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation are intensifying while military exchanges are also increasing. Since 1975, our two countries have signed 13 bi-annual plans of cultural cooperation and held 13 joint meetings on scientific and technological cooperation, identifying 244 cooperation projects. Sister relations have also been established between 12 pairs of provinces and cities of our countries. In recent years, increased bilateral military exchanges have also helped to enhance the mutual trust between our armed forces. Defense Secretary Cruz visited China last November and the two countries held their first defense and security consultation this year, formally activating our bilateral consultation mechanism on defense and security issues.

Fourth, tourism is increasing rapidly both ways and two countries are cooperating closely on international issues. Last year, 550,000 Filipinos visitedChina and over 100,000 Chinese tourists also visited this country, showing an increase of nearly 4 times over that of the year before. There are now over 600 Filipino young people and more than 500 Chinese studying in China and the Philippines. China and the Philippines are also consulting and cooperating with each other closely on regional and international issues. Thanks to our joint efforts, China, the Philippines and Vietnam signed an agreement on cooperation in the South China Sea, signifying a historic step toward joint development in this disputed area.

Our 30 years of diplomatic ties have shown that political trust constitutes an important foundation of our bilateral ties, mutual-beneficial cooperation provides a strong driving force for developing our relations, and maintenance of peace and promotion of joint development are the strategic goals of our friendly relations and cooperation. Looking back over the past 30 years, I may conclude the following:

-- One, to develop the relations between China and the Philippines, which are neighboring countries separated only by a trip of water and has a long history of friendship, is not only consistent with the wishes of our two peoples but also in conformity with the fundamental interests of our two nations.

-- Two, we shall certainly overcome all difficulties and bring our amicable ties to a new high by enhancing mutual understanding and trust, and with concerted efforts.

-- Three, the Sino-Filipino friendship, not directed against any other third country, and consistent with the historical trend of maintaining peace and promoting development, will not only be beneficial to our two countries but also be conducive to promoting peace and development in our region.

-- Four, the development of our bilateral ties has demonstrated that the growth of China will not impose any threat to our neighboring countries, and on the contrary, it will bring to our neighbors a vast potential market and rare development opportunities.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As developing nations, China and the Philippines share the same primary task of promoting economic growth and making our people more prosperous. Our two countries can achieve this noble goal and bring tangible benefits to our peoples by learning from each other and supporting each other in promoting our bilateral economic and trade cooperation in increasingly wider areas.

We have passed 30 years in our relations and are now entering a golden age of development. I am confident, China-Philippine relations, built on the solid foundation over the past 30 years and strengthened with our time-honored amicable relations, will develop more vigorously and continuously.

May I now take this opportunity to thank sincerely all our friends present here today for your valuable efforts in promoting our bilateral relations and hope all of you will continue to support and contribute more to our friendship and cooperation as well as to the happiness of our two peoples.

Thank and Mabuhay!

President Cesar Ubaldo,

Friends of the Rotary Club,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased and honored to meet my new and old friends once again at the Manila Rotary Club luncheon today. Let me begin by expressing my sincere thanks to President Cesar Ubaldo and other friends of the Club.

As we all know, this year marks the 30th anniversary of China-Philippines diplomatic ties, and our governments and peoples are now celebrating this important event in both countries. Therefore, it is of special significance for me and friends of the famous Manila Rotary Club, who are the cream de la cream of the Philippines, to celebrate together this important anniversary of our two countries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

China and the Philippines are close neighbors with a long history of traditional friendship. More than 500 years ago, Sultan of Sulu visited my country by enduring untold hardship and difficulties, leaving behind many touching stories. Last month, three descendants of the Sultan in China came back to their homeland to renew their friendship with Filipinos, the sentimental scenes still remaining fresh in the minds of many people. Recently, 100 Filipino young people including one Club member made their first trip to China, to establish amicable ties with Chinese youth. Before the end of this year, 100 young Chinese will be visiting this country, to plan together with young Filipinos for our bright future. If we say, Sultan of Sulu started the official contacts with the Chinese Government 500 years ago, then the exchange of visits by the 200 young Chinese and Filipinos are certainly opening the gateway leading to the future friendship of our two countries.

If compared with the time-honored Sino-Filipino ties of over 1000 years, 30 years are really nothing but a split second. However, the past 30 years are most important years in our bilateral history because during which we have made unprecedented achievements in our relations.

First, frequent exchanges of visits between our leaders have enhanced our political trust. Since 1975, all the presidents of the Philippines visited China, and Chinese leaders such as Jiang Zhemin, Li Peng, Zhu Ronji, Qiao Shi and Wu Bangguo also visited your country. President Arroyo and President Hu Jintao visited China and Philippines separately in September last year and April this year, thus promoting our bilateral relations to a new high. Our two Presidents agreed last April to establish a strategic and cooperative relationship for peace and development.

Second, bilateral trade has grown rapidly while trade and economic cooperation has further diversified. In 1975, our total trade volume was only 65 million USD, and reached 13.3 billion last year, increased by over 200 times and with 5 billion trade surplus for the Philippines. In the first 5 months this year, our trade reached 6.1 billion USD, an increase of 32% with 2.6 billion USD in favor of this country. We are confident that the target of raising our trade to 30 billion USD by 2010, as set by our two Presidents, will certainly be met. Our cooperation in such fields as agriculture, infrastructure and fishery is developing further while mining cooperation has also made fresh progress.

Third, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation are intensifying while military exchanges are also increasing. Since 1975, our two countries have signed 13 bi-annual plans of cultural cooperation and held 13 joint meetings on scientific and technological cooperation, identifying 244 cooperation projects. Sister relations have also been established between 12 pairs of provinces and cities of our countries. In recent years, increased bilateral military exchanges have also helped to enhance the mutual trust between our armed forces. Defense Secretary Cruz visited China last November and the two countries held their first defense and security consultation this year, formally activating our bilateral consultation mechanism on defense and security issues.

Fourth, tourism is increasing rapidly both ways and two countries are cooperating closely on international issues. Last year, 550,000 Filipinos visitedChina and over 100,000 Chinese tourists also visited this country, showing an increase of nearly 4 times over that of the year before. There are now over 600 Filipino young people and more than 500 Chinese studying in China and the Philippines. China and the Philippines are also consulting and cooperating with each other closely on regional and international issues. Thanks to our joint efforts, China, the Philippines and Vietnam signed an agreement on cooperation in the South China Sea, signifying a historic step toward joint development in this disputed area.

Our 30 years of diplomatic ties have shown that political trust constitutes an important foundation of our bilateral ties, mutual-beneficial cooperation provides a strong driving force for developing our relations, and maintenance of peace and promotion of joint development are the strategic goals of our friendly relations and cooperation. Looking back over the past 30 years, I may conclude the following:

-- One, to develop the relations between China and the Philippines, which are neighboring countries separated only by a trip of water and has a long history of friendship, is not only consistent with the wishes of our two peoples but also in conformity with the fundamental interests of our two nations.

-- Two, we shall certainly overcome all difficulties and bring our amicable ties to a new high by enhancing mutual understanding and trust, and with concerted efforts.

-- Three, the Sino-Filipino friendship, not directed against any other third country, and consistent with the historical trend of maintaining peace and promoting development, will not only be beneficial to our two countries but also be conducive to promoting peace and development in our region.

-- Four, the development of our bilateral ties has demonstrated that the growth of China will not impose any threat to our neighboring countries, and on the contrary, it will bring to our neighbors a vast potential market and rare development opportunities.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As developing nations, China and the Philippines share the same primary task of promoting economic growth and making our people more prosperous. Our two countries can achieve this noble goal and bring tangible benefits to our peoples by learning from each other and supporting each other in promoting our bilateral economic and trade cooperation in increasingly wider areas.

We have passed 30 years in our relations and are now entering a golden age of development. I am confident, China-Philippine relations, built on the solid foundation over the past 30 years and strengthened with our time-honored amicable relations, will develop more vigorously and continuously.

May I now take this opportunity to thank sincerely all our friends present here today for your valuable efforts in promoting our bilateral relations and hope all of you will continue to support and contribute more to our friendship and cooperation as well as to the happiness of our two peoples.

Thank and Mabuhay!