Li Peng kicks of 5-day visit

JAKARTA: China's number two leader Li Peng arrived here on Sunday, bringing with him some 20 senior officials and businesspeople.

Li Peng is scheduled to stay in Indonesia for five days and will hold a series of meetings with local officials. Indonesia is the second stop on his Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) tour after Thailand.

"The Chinese parliamentary speaker is the guest of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Director for Media Relations Wahid Supriyadi said.

Upon arrival on Sunday afternoon, Li Peng met with the Chinese community in Indonesia.

Li Peng will meet with Indonesian Assembly Speaker Amien Rais on Monday, and Vice President Hamzah Haz on Tuesday.

"The state guest will spend two days in Surabaya, East Java, to visit the Petrokimia and Maspion factories, before continuing on to Manila," Wahid added.

Relations between the two countries have blossomed in recent years, especially following Chinese premier Zhu Rongji's visit to Jakarta late last year when he promised to further increase the oil and gas trade between the two nations.--JP