Special Reports: President Hu Attends G20 London Summit   

    LONDON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao met leaders from France, Russia, Britain and the United States on Wednesday ahead a Group of 20 (G20) summit in London on financial crisis.

    Hu met with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy here Wednesday night.

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

    The meeting came hours after China and France issued a press communiqué Wednesday, which said 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 communiqué, France pledged not to support "Tibet independence" in any form.

    Relations between China and France deteriorated last December when Sarkozy decided to meet with the Dalai Lama in Poland.

    "Severe difficulties" had cropped up in bilateral relations a few months before, which the Chinese side did not want to see, Hu said.

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

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

    The French president said he was glad the two countries restored their comprehensive strategic partnership and resumed strategic dialogue.

    He expressed the hope that the two countries would seek to promote the steady and harmonious development of bilateral ties in politics, economy, diplomacy and other areas.

    In a meeting between Hu and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev earlier Wednesday, Hu said that China and Russia should strengthen cooperation to jointly overcome the current difficulties under the complicated and grave conditions of the world economy.

    The two countries need to strengthen communication and consultation, coordinate their stands within the G20 framework in particular, and push forward reforms of the international financial system, Hu said.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    Also on Wednesday, Hu and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama agreed to work together to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship in the 21st century, at the first meeting between the two heads of state since the new U.S. administration came into office in January.

    Hu said China and the United States need to view each other from a positive perspective and push forward dialogue and cooperation with positive moves despite the differences in their social systems, historical background, cultural tradition and phases of development.

    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.

    The Chinese president left Beijing Wednesday morning with a call for overhauling the international financial system, stabilizing the global financial market and preventing trade protectionism.

    In an exclusive interview with Xinhua before his departure for the G20 summit, Hu said 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."

    Efforts should be made as soon as possible to stabilize the global financial market and earnestly give play to the role of finance in spurring the real economy to restore the confidence of the people and enterprises, he said.

    The G20 consists of China, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Britain, the United States and the European Union.