Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo arrived in China yesterday to try tackling a dispute over islands in the South China Sea and generate investments in her country.
Arroyo was to attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's legislature, in Beijing. She was expected to sign agreements on energy cooperation, joint development and a railway project linking Manila with the Philippines' northern provinces.
Philippine officials said they hoped Arroyo's visit would drum up investment for the North Railway project and be the basis for agreements to create at least 17,000 jobs and commercial contracts.
It is Arroyo's first foreign trip since she won a new term in May elections.
During her three-day visit, Arroyo was expected to meet with President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and former President Jiang Zemin, now chairman of the Communist Party commission that runs China's military.
Philippine officials have said the president will urge China's government to allow joint use of a reef in the Spratly island chain, which straddle important shipping lanes in the South China Sea.
China first built structures on Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef, also called Panganiban Reef, in 1995, then fortified them three years later, drawing protests from Manila.
Beijing later promised to open the facilities for joint use "when conditions are ripe."
The Department of Foreign Affairs said earlier this week that "the Philippines believes that the existing conditions encourage such a positive step and seeks a clearer understanding with China on this issue."
China, Vietnam and Taiwan claim the entire chain, while the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia claim some of the islands, which teem with fish and are believed to be rich in oil and natural gas.
Before arriving in Beijing, Arroyo was to stop in the southern city of Guangzhou, where she was to be briefed on how China handled its outbreak of SARS last year, her office said.
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