GMA leaves for China this week

President Arroyo will leave this week for a five-day visit to China to lead Southeast Asian leaders in commemorating the anniversary of Beijing’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, (ASEAN) an official said yesterday.

Mrs. Arroyo, who leaves Friday, is also expected to have bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and meet prominent Chinese business leaders and other ASEAN heads of state, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

She also plans to meet the Filipino community in Fujian province, Bunye said.

Ceremonies marking the 15th anniversary of the dialogue relations between China and the 10-member ASEAN will be held in Nanning, the capital of China’s Guangxi region, he said.

China and ASEAN member countries have deepened their economic, political and security ties in recent years. They have agreed to create a free trade zone by 2010 with a combined market of two billion people. — AP