Chinese President Hu Jintao met British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations and other issues of common concern.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009. [Liu Weibing/Xinhua]

The two leaders are meeting on the sidelines of a Group of Twenty (G20) summit on financial crisis, a follow-up to last November's G20 meeting in Washington.

This is the second meeting between the two leaders in less than five months. Hu and Brown met in Washington during the summit and they discussed bilateral relations and ways of tackling the financial crisis.

As two of the world's leading economies, China and Britain are crucial players in addressing the current unstable economic climate.

"China was one of the first countries to make the announcement that it would attend the Washington summit and we are also one of the countries which are actively cooperating with Britain, host of the upcoming London summit, to ensure its success," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told a press conference on March 7 this year.

"I believe with the joint efforts of all parties, positive results will be achieved at the London financial summit," said Yang.

The London Summit brings together leaders of the G20, and representatives of international organizations and financial institutions to work cooperatively to restore stability and stimulate global economic growth.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (3rd R) meets with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2nd L) in London, Britain, on April 1, 2009. [Yao Dawei/Xinhua]

At Thursday's summit, the leaders will focus on such subjects as enhancing the coordination of macroeconomic policies, strengthening international financial regulation and stabilizing global financial market, as well as reforming international financial institutions.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told reporters on March 23 that President Hu will deliver a speech at the summit to elaborate China's opinions and propositions on these subjects.

China endeavors to push for positive and pragmatic results at the upcoming London summit, He added.

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.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2009)