On the afternoon of December 12, 2003, at the Mexican Senate, visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held friendly talks with President Enrique Jackson Ramírez of the Mexican Senate and Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies Francisco Arroyo.

On behalf of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, Jackson and Arroyo extended warm welcome to Wen.

Jackson especially emphasized that the Mexican Senate attached great importance to Premier Wen's visit, and it decided on the 11thto go out of its way to interrupt the debate scheduled on the next day and invite Premier Wen to deliver a speech to the whole Senate. Expressing gratitude to Jackson's kind invitation, Wen hopedlegislative branches in both countries strengthen communications and jointly contribute to the development of Sino-Mexican relations.

Premier Wenimprovised a speech at the senate plenary meeting. First, he recalled the scene when 16 years ago, he visited Mexico by invitation and the Mexican people's hospitality is still present in his mind. As to Sino-Mexican relations, Wen said both China and Mexico share the common history of being invaded by foreign countries, so though wide apart, the two countries can well understand each other. Despite the fact that China and Mexico have different historical backgrounds and social systems, the two sides, both developing countries, find themselves to be in a very crucial period, facing common development goals. Mutual understanding, sympathy and support are the basis of two sides' mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation. China and Mexico are cooperative partners, not and will never be competitors. There must be a mechanism to ensure the two countries to step on a mutually beneficial, win-win and common developing road. He also said the Chinese government sincerely hopes to have a friendly cooperation with Mexico, and will work with the various circles of Mexico to promote the two countries' relations to a higher level. The senaters gave a big applause to Wen's speech.

Whenreciting a speech of welcome, Jackson said China has an ancient civilization, resplendent culture and diligent people. After 20 years of development, China witnessed a great change. Being the driving force of the economic development in Asia-Pacific region, China is very important in international affairs. China and Mexico face the common task of development, and tocontinuallystrengthen the two countries' cooperation is in both sides' fundamental interests.

Before that, Premier Wen Jiabao also metwith former Mexican President Luis Echeverria Alvarez, who is 81 years old now, and was president during 1970 to 1976. Wen highly evaluated Echeverria's efforts in establishing in 1972 and developing diplomatic relations between China and Mexico, calling him people's friendly ambassador in every sense of the word. Wen also briefed him on the main task of his visit and stressed that both China and Mexico are big developing countries, with the same political view and the mutual economic interest.The two countries should continually strengthen the bilateral cooperative partnership. Echeverria said he fully supported the idea and introduced to Wen his major job of creating the Institute of the Third World Study.