The President of Colombia Alvaro Uribe Perez was welcomed warmly by Shangri-La's Kerry Centre Hotel General Manager Darren Gearing upon Perez's arrival at the hotel during the recent visit to Beijing. Perez was in Beijing to meet with his Chinese counterpart on a range of trade and social issues.

China and Colombia signed five documents in Beijing during Perez's cisit to cement their cooperation in the areas of plant and animal quarantine, information and telecommunication, film exhibition, economy and technology.

Hu Jintao proposed, during hour-long formal talks prior to the signing, that the two sides should strengthen governmental, parliamentary and party-to-party exchange and promote cooperation in areas of energy, petrochemicals, light industry, mechanical and electronics sectors.

In addition, Hu said, China and Colombia should expand exchange in cultural, educational, scientific and technological fields and enhance cooperation on regional and international occasions like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, World Health Organization and the Organization of American States.