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Facts and figures of President Hu's G20 tour

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-03 20:15

BEIJING -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday attended the Group of 20 (G20) summit in London, on the sidelines of which he met with leaders from Brazil, Japan and Australia. The following are some facts and figures about his tour.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) greets Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso during their bilateral meeting after the G20 Summit in London April 2, 2009. [Agencies]

China-Japan Ties

-- On September 29, 1972, both the Chinese and Japanese governments issued the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement. The normalization of relations between the two countries came true.

-- On November 25, 1998, former Chinese President Jiang Zemin made a visit to Japan, which marked the first visit to this country by a Chinese head of state. The two sides issued the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration, announcing the establishment of a partnership of friendship and cooperation for peace and development.

-- During Chinese President Hu Jintao's "warm spring" visit to Japan last May, the two sides issued a joint statement on all-round promotion of strategic and mutually beneficial relations, laying down a guiding principle for the long-term development of bilateral ties and ushering their relations into a new development phase.

-- Japan remains China's third largest trading partner. Sino-Japanese trade amounted to US$246.2 billion in the first 11 months of 2008.

China-Australia Ties

-- China and Australia established diplomatic relations on December 21, 1972. Bilateral ties have been by and large developing smoothly, as leaders of the two countries have maintained frequent exchanges of visits and contacts.

-- The bilateral economic relationship continues to develop rapidly. In late 2007, China overtook Japan to become Australia's largest trading partner. Australia is China's ninth largest trading partner.

-- The launch of bilateral Free Trade Agreement negotiations in Beijing in April 2005 marked a significant milestone in the economic relationship.

-- Australian exports to China have grown very strongly in recent years, increasing a further 16 percent in 2007 to 26.6 billion Australian dollars (about US$19 billion). China is now Australia's second largest export market.

China-Brazil Ties

-- China and Brazil established diplomatic ties in 1974. The two countries set up strategic partnership in 1993 when then Chinese President Jiang Zemin visited Brazil.

-- Brazil is currently the largest trading partner of China in Latin America. In 2007, China overtook Germany as the third biggest trading partner of Brazil, and last year, China surpassed Argentina to become Brazil's second biggest trading partner, after the United States.

-- In the last eight years, bilateral trade has grown by 30 percent annually. Bilateral trade volume in the first 10 months of 2008 reached US$42.54 billion, an 81-percent increase year on year. China's exports to Brazil reached 16.63 billion dollars, an increase of 86.5 percent, while its imports from the South American nation surged by 77.5 percent to hit 25.9 billion dollars.