Deng's daughter welcomed

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday extended an official welcome to China's Junior Minister of Science and Technology Deng Nan, the third daughter of the deceased Chinese leader Deng Xiao Ping.

Deng Nan, 52, arrived on Sunday for a one-week visit to promote cooperation in the fields of science and technology. The electrical engineer was accompanied by Indonesia's Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie when he paid a courtesy call on Soeharto yesterday.

Deng later told reporters that Indonesia and China are prepared to work together on projects including agriculture, forestry, remote sensing, medicine and energy.

She said that Indonesia-China cooperation in those fields would be considered at a meeting with the Research and Technology Commission in Beijing in September.

Habibie expressed particular support for cooperation in medicine, which he said, was feasible because of China's experience in various forms of treatment including acupuncture.

Deng said, during her visit of the state-owned aviation company PT IPTN, that Indonesia was ready for a "strong take- off."

Her father, Deng Xiao Ping, who was suffering from advanced stages of Parkinson's disease, died on Feb. 19 at the age of 92 from complications of a lung infection.

Deng Xiao Ping is credited the economic reforms which have transformed China into a major regional force. He has been succeeded by his heir Jiang Jemin, 70. (01)