BEIJING — French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin on Friday invited Chinese President Hu Jintao to meet with the world's wealthiest nations at their annual summit.
In Paris, a spokesman for the next summit's host, French President Jacques Chirac, said China would meet the G-8 heads of state only on the sidelines of the conference on its opening day.
Still, the invitation strengthens China's drive to win membership in the exclusive club, as well as get validation as the world's largest developing economy.
"We hope Hu will be able ... to take part.... The response that we got from the Chinese side has been extremely positive," Raffarin said.
The G-8 -- made up of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia -- is scheduled to meet June 1-3 in the Alpine town of Evian, France.
Russia, now a full member, gained entry after initially being invited to talk on the sidelines.
