Chinese President Hu Jintao meets Maltese PM
23/10/2008 16:07
Chinese President Hu Jintao met in Beijing this morning with Maltese Prime
Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who is to attend the seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)
to be held from Oct. 24 to 25.
Hu expressed his appreciation of Gonzi's
active contribution toward the development of China-Maltese relations.
He
said the Chinese people are grateful that the Maltese Prime Minister went to the
Chinese Embassy in Malta to express his condolences after the 8.0-magnitude
earthquake had jolted the southwestern Sichuan Province on May 12 and offered
help for China.
Gonzi said he is glad and feel honored to have this
opportunity to attend the ASEM and exchange opinions on related topics of the
meeting.
Established as a high-level forum between governments of Asia and
Europe, the ASEM this year is expected to focus on how to respond to the current
global financial crisis, rather than the earlier planned topics like climate
change, sustainable development and energy security.
Launched in 1996 as an
informal dialogue mechanism, the ASEM now includes 45 members, representing more
than 50 percent of the world's gross domestic product.
Xinhua
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