Li Peng kicks of 5-day visit

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