On the morning of January 16, 2007, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met respectively with Philippine Senate President Manny Villar and House Speaker Jose de Venecia in Manila.

Wen said that China and the Philippines are good neighbors and cooperative partners. He said that in an era of accelerated economic globalization and regional integration, the ties between China and the Philippines have never been as close as they are now, and common interests of the two countries have never been as wide as they are today. He suggested that the two sides stand on a strategic height to look at and handle bilateral relations from a wider perspective. The Premier said it is a demand of the time and common desire of the people of the two countries for China and the Philippines to establish a strategic partnership dedicated to peace and development. He said China will adhere to its foreign policy of "treating its neighbors well and as partners", and will increase mutual trust with the Philippines to strengthen cooperation and push forward bilateral relations.

Wen said that his visit to the Philippines is fruitful and that he has reached a lot of new consensus with President Arroyo as for how to widen and deepen bilateral cooperation. He said both sides agreed to quicken the drafting of a joint action plan for Sino-Philippine strategic cooperation, in order to better plan long-term cooperation between the two countries. Wen said that relevant government agencies of the two countries have just signed a number of important documents of cooperation, which he said will surely lift to a higher level cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

The Premier said exchanges between legislatures of the two countries make up an important part of bilateral relations, and are playing an important role in strengthening mutual understanding and pushing forward bilateral cooperation. China attaches importance to strengthened friendly exchanges and cooperation with the Philippine Senate and House and is ready to make greater contributions to the development of bilateral ties.

Both Villar and De Venecia expressed satisfaction with the current development of Filipino-Chinese relations and the two countries have maintained sound cooperation in many areas, including that of political parties and parliaments. They said the visit to the Philippines by Premier Wen has instilled new dynamics into bilateral relations. They also expressed their hope that the Philippines and China will learn from each other and help each other in development of both countries, and said that the Philippine parliament will continue to firmly support the development of relations with China.

After meeting with De Venecia, Wen received the "Parliament Achievement Honorable Medal" awarded by the Philippine House of Representatives.

On the same day, Wen also attended a meeting on the Sino-Philippines agricultural co-operations and offered a wreath to the Rizal Monument. He also met with the staff of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines and representatives from Chinese-funded institutions, Chinese students and overseas Chinese.