The President said she was deeply impressed by the unanimity shown by the Asean and Chinese leaders in addressing the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, and lauded the Chinese government for its "very hands-on role" in resolving the issue.

The proof of the success of the Asean-China stand on the North Korean nuclear threat was "Pyongyang’s statement that they are going to resume the Six-Party Talks, and that’s really good news for the region and the world," the President said in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer and National Broadcasting Network (NBN).

The "strong statement by the Asean leaders, together with China, was very successful in that Pyongyang announced that they would go back to the Six-Party Talks," and "that’s very welcomed," she added.

China is a one of the countries involved in the Six-Party Talks, which seek to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. The five other participants are North Korea, South Korea, the United States, Japan and Russia.

Upon arrival in Nanchang City, the President, the chair of this year’s Asean, said she would bring up North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, which had cast a pall over the Nanning Summit.

The President said the first topic she took up with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in their initial meeting was the nuclear test conducted by Pyongyang. She said she was "very impressed" by China’s handling of the North Korean nuclear issue.

Assessing the outcome of her five-day, five-province trip to the mainland to co-chair the 15^th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) + China Summit in Nanning with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the President said among the top Chinese investors interested in expanding its investment in the Philippines is Bau Steel, the No. 1 steel company in China and No. 5 in the world.

Bau Steel and China Development Bank are investing $1 billion in the Nonoc nickel mine in Surigao.

The President said the Philippines and China have been working on the Chinese investment in Nonoc since 2005 and "I would really like to see the investments on the ground already because the people of Surigao certainly can benefit from that."

Surigao is one of the 10 poorest provinces of the Philippines

The President said that although it is a member of the Xingjuan consortium, Bau Steel, on its own, is looking for investment opportunities in the coal and iron ore mining sector.

She said Prime Minister Wen told that Xingjuan is No. 1 in nickel in China and No. 2 in the word.

The President said she has invited the chair of Bau Steel, a woman, through Chinese businessman Victor Kung, to visit the Philippines "so she can look at business opportunities in the Philippines."

A member of the board of Bau Steel, Kung is a "very good friend of the Philippines," the President said.

The Chief Executive said she made Xiamen her first stop in her China trip because 80 percent of the descendants of Filipino-Chinese are from Fujian and "Xiamen is the commercial city of Fujian."