MANILA, Philippines?President Benigno Aquino has assured the Chinese government that there would be no "unprincipled protection and cover-up" in the ongoing investigation of the bloody August 23 hostage-taking at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, the Beijing's ambassador to the Philippines, said on Thursday.

Ambassador Liu Jianchao, who met with Aquino on Wednesday at Malacañang, also said on Thursday the President "looked forward to concerted efforts by the two sides in striking a proper settlement of the related issues and moving on with Philippines-China relations."

Aquino also assured Liu "the Philippine side will work closely with the Chinese side to go ahead with the investigation."

In a statement, Liu said both sides were "working together to see to it that the investigation proceed in a smooth and steady manner."

He expressed hope that Philippine government probers would come up with a "comprehensive and fair report, which tells the truth, upholds justice and becomes something that can be drawn upon for handling similar cases in the future."

Liu said he was confident both sides "have the wisdom to deal with this isolated incident in an appropriate manner so as to turn challenges into opportunities for achieving a sound and stable development of China-Philippines relations."

During their meeting, Liu and the President "agreed to further strengthen mutually-beneficial cooperation so as to strive for continued development of China-Philippines strategic and cooperative relationship."

Liu cited the President for showing his "firm determination in settling the aftermath of the incident by promising a comprehensive, thorough and fair investigation."

Aquino earlier took responsibility for the Rizal Park hostage-taking fiasco, which he said showed deficiencies in police training and equipment to handle crisis situations.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Vice President Jejomar Binay at the latter's office at the Philippine National Bank headquarters in Pasay City, Liu said "we think everything is moving in the right direction."

He noted the two sides "have been dealing with the crisis in a friendly and cooperative manner."

"We look forward to the (completion of the) final report of the investigation so we could turn the page in our bilateral relations," Liu added.

Binay said "the Chinese government has taken a lot of constructive role to find out what really happened."

"This is an isolated case. It's a criminal case. It's not a political case," he pointed out.

Binay declined to comment on the ongoing inquiry into the hostage-taking incident.

"Let's wait for the final report," he said.

A high-level delegation, composed of Binay, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, will leave shortly for Beijing and Hong Kong as soon as the government completes its investigation on the hostage crisis.

Earlier in a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said, "While the delegation is ready to leave anytime, there is an understanding between both sides that the Philippine delegation will bring a full report (of the August 23 incident)."

Liu described as "reasonable" the 15-day deadline set by the government to wrap up its inquiry.

Meanwhile, there is still no word from the Chinese Embassy in Manila about the schedule of Vice Premier Li Keqiang's official visit to Manila.

Li had cancelled his trip supposedly set for the first week of September.

The foreign office, however, clarified the cancellation had nothing to do with the hostage-taking crisis.

DFA spokesman J. Eduardo Malaya said the Chinese foreign ministry informed the Philippine Embassy in Beijing about the postponement even before August 23.

"The visit was postponed in view of the natural disasters that have recently beset China, which resulted in many casualties and destruction," said Malaya.

According to Malaya, the embassy received the notice last August 20.

Li also postponed his visit to two other member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, he added.