A senior Chinese diplomat on Wednesday ruled out the possible meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the sidelines of the outreach session of the G-8 Summit this month.

 

"We are busy arranging a series of bilateral meeting, but up to now China-Japan meeting is not included in the arrangement," said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai at a news briefing.

 

"There exist severe difficulties in China-Japan relations. I think we all know clearly the obstacles and crux of the difficulties," Cui said.

 

Sino-Japanese relations have been soured by Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, where Japan's war dead, including 14 convicted class A war criminals in World War II, are honored.

 

The leaders of the two countries halted exchange of visits following Koizumi's homage at the war shrine soon after he took office in 2001.

 

Hu Jintao will attend the outreach session of the G-8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia on July 17. The session will discuss energy security, prevention and control of epidemic diseases, education, African development and other topics.

 

On the sidelines of the summit, Hu will hold a trilateral meeting with leaders from Russia and India as well as a group meeting with leaders from India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico and the Republic of Congo.

 

Cui said Hu will also hold a series of one-on-one meetings, including possible meetings with President Vladimir Putin and US President George W. Bush.

 

Hu and Bush "have expressed their hope in their phone talks to meet each other" in St. Petersburg, Cui said, adding that the schedule of all bilateral meetings are still under consultations.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2006)