Up to Sarkozy to get ties back on track

It is up to French President Nicolas Sarkozy to put Sino-French relations back on track, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

France holds the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) till the end of this year. And since Sarkozy is the president of that country, his decision to meet with the Dalai Lama in Poland on Saturday forced China to defer the China-EU meeting, scheduled for Monday.

"The French president, who ignored China's concern, should be fully responsible (for the downturn in bilateral relations)," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular briefing.