CHENGDU CITY, China
(via PLDT) -- "We came not only for your delicious spicy food but also to build a
warm relationship between our two economies and two people."
Thus President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo set the
tone of her two-day visit to China in her informal talk with Mayor Ge Honglin of Chengdu
– a "municipality" one-third the size of the Philippines -- before
addressing the Chengdu Business Forum at the Jinjiang Hotel before noon Wednesday.
Warm, indeed, was the reception given the visiting
Philippine leader who was met by Chengdu the lady Vice-Mayor Zhao Xiao Wei at the Chengdu
Shuangliu International Airport and a little boy with a bouquet of beautiful blooms.
At lunchtime, Sichuan, Chengdu’s mother
province, feted the President with a 20-course banquet spread on a giant round table at
the center of the hotel’s ground floor. Onstage, a 10-woman mini orchestra serenaded
the President with Chinese ditties and the Philippines’ own Leron, Leron,
Sinta. Young Chengdu artists spiced up the entertainment fare with a display of
various native dances.
Before the luncheon, which was hosted by the
Sichuan officialdom led by Governor Jiang Jufeng, the President addressed the Chengdu
Business Forum at the Brocade City Room of the Jinjiang Hotel right beside the VIP Room
where Chengdu officials gathered in full force to listen to her conversation with Chengdu
Mayor Honglin.(full story) released 07 Jun 2007
