China's Hu says 'Paris Olympic torch disruption hurt our feelings'+

BEIJING, April 24 (Kyodo) - China's President Hu Jintao on Thursday told a senior French envoy visiting Beijing to try to ease strained bilateral relations that the disruption to the Olympic torch relay in Paris hurt the Chinese people's feelings.

Hu also told Christian Poncelet, president of the French Senate, that China hopes France will face up to the problems that have emerged and that the two countries can work together to remove their differences, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Their meeting comes after a series of anti-Western demonstrations were held in China in recent days, partly focused on the perceived failure of French authorities to fully protect the Olympic torch during the relay through Paris earlier this month.

Hu's meeting with Poncelet at the Great Hall of the People was also given prominent coverage during the main evening news bulletin on state-run TV.

Hu told him China values France's friendship and places great importance on the relations between the two countries.

Poncelet was quoted by Xinhua as saying he regrets the disturbances at the Paris torch relay, understands and respects the Chinese people's feelings, opposes the linking of sports with politics, and supports the Beijing Olympics.

A spokesman for the French Embassy in Beijing declined to comment on the talks, but said a statement will be released on Friday.

Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin was also in Beijing on Thursday as part of French efforts to ease tensions between the two countries.

He held talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, to whom he expressed sorrow for the incidents at the torch relay in Paris, according to Xinhua.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier this week sent a personal message of sympathy to a disabled Chinese athlete who fended off a pro-Tibet protester as she carried the Olympic torch in a wheelchair during the Paris relay.

Jin Jing, who is a Paralympic fencer, has become a symbol of the anti-French protests, as photographs of her clutching the torch while police dragged off the protester have received massive publicity in the state media.

Many of the anti-Western protests in recent days have been held at branches of the French supermarket Carrefour, and Chinese Internet users have called for a boycott of French goods.

State-controlled media have given prominent coverage to the demonstrations, but in recent days have been urging protesters to tone down protests and to think more "rationally."