Chinese president leaves for G8 summit outreach session

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao left here Monday afternoon for Japan to attend the Outreach Session of the Group of Eight (G8) Summit, at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.

Hu's entourage included Ling Jihua, member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of General Office of CPC Central Committee, Wang Huning, member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and director of Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee, State Councilor Dai Bingguo, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission Zhang Ping, Minister of Agriculture Sun Zhengcai, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming, Director of the President's Office Chen Shiju and Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi.

According to Liu Jieyi, Hu would participate in a joint meeting with leaders from India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico, attend a summit of G8 countries and five developing countries, and take part in a meeting of leaders from the major economic powers to discuss energy security and climate change.

President Hu will also attend a working lunch to discuss issues of common concern such as the world economic situation, food security and development.

The G8 members, namely the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and Russia, are scheduled to hold their annual summit of 2008 from July 7 to 9 at a lakeside resort of Toyako on the northern island of Hokkaido of Japan.

TOYAKO, Japan, July 6 (Xinhua) -- When the leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations gather in Hokkaido, Japan, this week for their annual summit, they face the challenge of showing greater resolve to fight global warming, remedying the world economy and easing tensions in the world's hot spots.

The host country Japan has put talks on climate change high on the agenda of the meeting in the northern resort of Toyako, building on the outcome of last year's summit in Germany, where leaders agreed to seriously consider a target of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Full story

TOYAKO, Japan, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The three-day summit of the Group of Eight (G8) kicked off on Monday with the first session bringing together leaders of the industrialized nations and their counterparts from seven African countries.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who is playing host for the G8 annual gathering, greeted other G8 leaders and the African leaders at the start of a working lunch at the hilltop Windsor Hotel in Toyako, a resort town on the northern island of Hokkaido.