Chinese, French presidents meet in London

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-02 07:20

LONDON - Chinese President Hu Jintao met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy here Wednesday night.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) meets Chinese President Hu Jintao in London April 1, 2009. World leaders are in London ahead of a G20 summit meeting under intense pressure to produce a morale-boosting response to the worst economic downturn since the 1930s. [Agencies]

"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.

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The two leaders were meeting ahead of a Group of 20 summit on the financial crisis, scheduled here for Thursday.

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.

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