On July 8, 2008, Chinese President Hu Jintao met in Sapporo, capital of Hokkaido, with representatives of Japanese rescue and medical teams that participated in the rescue work in the aftermath of the disastrous 8.0-magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province.

The meeting was held in Renaissance Sapporo Hotel where Hu Jintao stayed.

At 9:30 local time, Hu entered the meeting place. He shook hands one by one with the 16 representatives and conveyed the Chinese government and Chinese people's sincere regards.

Hu said in his remarks that the Japanese government and all circles of the society gave their aid when the Chinese people suffered from the grave disaster of the earthquake. The Japanese rescue and disaster relief team was the first such foreign professional team to arrive in China following the quake and the Chinese people were deeply impressed by their outstanding rescue activities. The Japanese medical team also made remarkable achievements in their treatment and cure work and their eminent humanitarian spirit and professional devotion were highly applauded by the Chinese people. "Your actions fully exhibited the Japanese people's friendly sentiment toward the Chinese people," said Hu.

Hu introduced the reconstruction processes in China. "Although the work will be arduous, we believe that we will undoubtedly achieve all-around success and help those affected restore their homes with the potent support of the international community, including Japan."

He emphasized that disaster prevention and relief is a common topic for the whole human society and an important field for the implementation of the Sino-Japanese strategic and mutually beneficial cooperation. The Chinese president called for efforts from both sides on such cooperation to further push forward the bilateral ties.

During their speeches at the meeting, the Japanese representatives once again expressed condolences over the devastating earthquake. They believed that the people of the quake-hit areas can overcome difficulties and rebuild their homeland.

At the end of the meeting, Hu presented to the representatives memorial volumes recording the Japanese assistance teams' performance in China and took a group photo with them.