China mourned on Saturday the death of the former Philippine president Corazon Aquino.

"Mrs. Aquino is an outstanding leader of the Philippines, and she is also a good friend of the Chinese people," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a press release.

"Chinese government and the Chinese people feel deeply regretted over her death," she said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has sent a message of sympathy to Philippine President Gloria Arroyo over the death of Mrs. Aquino, according to the press release.

Aquino died early Saturday morning at age 76 after battling colon cancer for over a year.

Corazon Aquino's son, Senator Benigno Aquino III, confirmed that the former Philippine leader died of cardio respiratory arrest at 3:18 a.m. local time Saturday (1918 GMT Friday) at the Makati Medical Center in the country's capital Manila.

In 1986, Mrs. Aquino led the military-backed mass revolt, known as " People Power" revolution, and unseated the then president Ferdinand Marcos, putting an end to his 26-year iron-fist rule. She became the country's first female president in 1987.

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2009)