Special Reports: President Hu Attends G20 London Summit 

    BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The following are highlights of the Group of 20 (G20) tour by Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with French President Nicolas Sarkozy during their meeting in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) Photo Gallery>>>

    LONDON -- Hu met with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy here Wednesday night ahead of the G20 summit scheduled for Thursday.

    "Our meeting today means a new starting point for the bilateral relations, and I hope the two sides work together to usher in a new phase in Chinese-French ties," Hu said at the start of his meeting with Sarkozy.

    Hu said China did not want to see "severe difficulties" that had emerged in bilateral relations a few months before.

    "China appreciates France's latest move and feels happy about the restoration of bilateral relations," Hu said.

    Sarkozy said no matter how France-China relations change, he believed there is only one China in the world, and that Taiwan and Tibet are alienable parts of the Chinese territories.

    China and France said in a press communique issued Wednesday simultaneously by their foreign ministries that the two sides "attach great importance to China-France relations" and reiterated their adherence to the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

    In the communique, France pledged not to support "Tibet independence" in any form.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) meets with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in London, Britain, April 1, 2009. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) Photo Gallery>>>

    LONDON -- Hu said at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev here Wednesday that China and Russia should strengthen cooperation to jointly overcome the current difficulties under the complicated and grave conditions of the world economy.

    He said the two sides should strengthen practical cooperation by implementing existing cooperation agreements and pushing forward major joint projects in natural gas, nuclear energy and other fields.

    The two countries should also try to sign the inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in the oil sector at an early date, boost technological and military cooperation and strengthen coordination in dealing with the international financial crisis, he said.

    Medvedev agreed with Hu's evaluation of bilateral relations and said Russia is looking forward to Hu's state visit to the country in June.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) Photo Gallery>>>

    LONDON-- Hu and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown reached broad consensus on tackling the international financial crisis, promoting the reform of the world financial system and enhancing bilateral relations when they met here Wednesday.

    This is the second meeting between the two leaders in less than five months.

    Hu said the upcoming London G20 summit is of great importance for boosting confidence of the people and businesses, stabilizing the world financial market and reviving global economic growth.

    During the meeting, Hu made a four-point proposal to address the complicated international economic situation. First, to stabilize the world financial market as soon as possible; second, to adopt economic stimulus plans in line with a country's specific conditions; third, to curb trade and investment protectionism; and fourth, to reform the world financial regime in an all-round, balanced, gradual and effective manner.

    Brown said he hoped the summit would boost the confidence of the international community, help resolve the existing problems in the world economy and play a role in reviving the global economy.

    The two leaders also discussed bilateral relations.

    Hu said both sides should keep the overall bilateral relations in mind, and respect and handle appropriately issues that concern each other's core interests.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama during their meeting in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) Photo Gallery>>>

    LONDON-- Chinese President Hu Jintao and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama agreed to work together to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship in the 21st century when they met here Wednesday.

    This was the first meeting between the two heads of state since the new U.S. administration came into office in January.

    China and the United States share more extensive common interests in tackling the financial crisis, striving to recover global economic growth, dealing with international and regional issues and safeguarding world peace and security, Hu said.

    The two countries should also work together to tackle the complicated and thorny issues facing the humanity in the 21st century to achieve mutually beneficial cooperation and common development, he said.

    BEIJING -- Hu left Beijing Wednesday morning for the G20 financial summit in London with a call for overhauling the international financial system, stabilizing the global financial market and preventing trade protectionism.

    Just ahead of his departure, the president said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua that "the international financial system should undergo necessary reforms in an all-round, balanced, gradual and effective manner to prevent a similar (financial) crisis in the future."