Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Mekere Morauta congratulated China on its success in hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting during his meeting with Chinese President Jiang Zemin Sunday night in Shanghai.

Mekere Morauta was not the only one to say so to Jiang. Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, Australian Prime Minister John Winston Howard, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mahathir Bin Mohamad, Japanese Prime Minister Jarichiro Koizumi, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, also praised China’s hosting of APEC when they met with President Jiang.

Mexican President Vicente Fox expressed the same opinion. "APEC 2001 is turning out a significant success, as we should expect from a country with such a dynamism, history and sense of the future.

"Indeed, for us chairing APEC in 2002 represents a challenge to equal Chinese generosity, outstanding organization and hard work," Fox added.

Mexico, a member of the 21-member APEC forum, is expected to host next year's APEC meetings, including the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM), Ministerial Meetings, and the Senior Officials Meetings(SOM).

(Edited by Zheng Guihong for china.org.cn according to news of Xinhua News Agency 10/22/2001)