Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife Ludmilla greeted President Hu Jintao and some forty other world leaders arriving for celebrations to mark the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, in front of the Bronze Horseman, a magnificent monument to Peter the Great, the city's founder.

Ahead of the welcoming ceremony, Hu met with Poland's President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Greek PM Constantine Simitis and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien in succession on Friday afternoon.

During his meeting with Chretien, Hu remarked that China values its relations with Canada, and the new government is ready to make concerted efforts to further strengthen bilateral co-operation.

Both leaders also exchanged views on two countries' fight against SARS.

Hu said the Chinese Government, faced with the outbreak of the disease, had always placed a priority on safeguarding the lives and health of its people and had taken decisive and effective measures to prevent and contain its spread .

As experience has shown, the SARS epidemic can be prevented, treated and controlled, Hu said, noting that the Chinese people are determined and confident of winning the battle with the support of the international community.

In his talks with Simitis, also the current rotating chairman of the European Union (EU), Hu said that it remains an important part of China's foreign policy to develop relations with the EU.

Reaffirming China's support for the integration of the EU, Hu stressed that China valued the union's vital role in international affairs. He said the furtherance of bilateral relations between the EU and China is not only of fundamental interest to both sides, but also is conducive to establishing peace and stability in Asia and Europe.

Hu said he hoped that Greece would play an active role in promoting ties between the EU and China.

Simitis said he is satisfied with the development of bilateral trade and economic co-operation, which has witnessed a rapid increase. For their part, said Simitis, the Greek Government is willing to promote co-operation in areas of culture, tourism and agriculture, and especially in regard to China's hosting of the Olympic Games in forwarding bilateral relations.

Both leaders also exchanged views on the post-war reconstruction of Iraq and the Middle East conflict.

Whilst meeting with Kwasniewski, Hu expressed his congratulations in respect of Poland's membership to EU in April.

Hu said China and Poland have neither unsettled issues nor basic conflicts of interest, adding that China's new government will, as always, endeavour to maintain and further develop friendly relations with Poland.

Kwasniewski also expressed his confidence in the future of development of bilateral relations, saying that Poland attached importance to China's increasing influence in international affairs and is willing to enhance exchanges and co-operation with China.

On Saturday, Hu will meet Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Tokyo's relations with Beijing have been rocky since Koizumi came to power in 2001, following his controversial visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours Japan's war dead, but includes several war criminals and is seen by critics as a symbol of its militarism.

"China has attached great importance to summits between high-ranking officials of China and Japan,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said ahead of Hu's visit, saying that China hoped Sino-Japanese relations can be steadily promoted by direct contact between the leaders.

After attending the anniversary ceremony, Hu will go on to join the leaders' informal dialogue meeting between the North and the South (developed and developing countries) to be held at Evian of France.

During the multilateral event, Hu is due to meet leaders of some other countries and international organizations, including the United States President George W. Bush.

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