President Jiang Zemin flew to Brunei last night for a two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) leaders' summit.

He will stay in the sultanate for another two days, the last leg of his three-nation Southeast Asian tour which started on Saturday and has already taken him to Laos and Cambodia.

Before leaving Cambodia earlier yesterday, Jiang, accompanied by King Sihanouk, visited Angkor Vat, a cultural relic known for its Buddhist temples and sculptures.

In a statement handed out on his arrival at Brunei International Airport last night, the president expressed his conviction that the good relations between China and Brunei will gain momentum in the new century.

APEC summit

Brunei, which took over the annual rotating chairmanship of the APEC forum, has set "delivering the community" as the theme for the Asia-Pacific flagship organization's gathering.

Jiang will join other Pacific-rim leaders, such as US President Bill Clinton and Russian President Vladimir Putin, to address a variety of issues ranging from globalization, the multilateral trading regime and sub-regional trade arrangements, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry sources.

The Chinese president is expected to make a keynote luncheon address today at the APEC CEO Summit, in which he will expound China's views on globalization and how businesses shall become actively involved in economic and technological co-operation.

In the afternoon, Jiang will participate in a dialogue with the APEC Business Advisory Council.

Both the CEO summit and the council dialogue are on the agendas set for APEC, which was founded in 1989 in Canberra, Australia, in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies.

Aiming to advance Asia-Pacific economic dynamism and a sense of community, the APEC forum has become the primary vehicle for promoting open trade and practical economic links.

This year's forum, which began on November 10, has drawn several thousand delegates from 21 APEC member economies and ends with an economic leaders' summit on November 15-16.

Leaders to meet

Outside the summit, Jiang is scheduled to meet his counterparts from Malaysia, Russia, South Korea and the US, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Jiang's get-together with President Clinton tomorrow - likely to be their last encounter before the US head leaves office in January - is expected to take the limelight. The two leaders are expected to discuss issues concerning "China-US relations and other major international issues," according to the spokesman.

(China daily 11/15/2000)