BEIJING, Jan 22: China said on Thursday it was ready to mend ties with France following a deep row over Tibet, in its first conciliatory move since tensions flared last year.

But it said it was up to France to take the first step after a meeting between the French president and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama damaged relations between the two nations.

“We are ready to work with France to improve our bilateral relations.

This is in the interest of the two countries and their people,” assistant foreign minister Wu Hongbo told reporters.

“France is a great country, French people are great people.” China opposes any foreign leaders meeting the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of trying to seek independence from Chinese rule for his Himalayan homeland, and Wu said his country was not to blame for the rift.

“We very much hope that there will be an improvement in bilateral relations, however, as the Chinese saying goes, the one who tied the knot should be the one who unties it,” Wu said.

“As the one who tied the knot, France, I believe, is clear about what needs to be done.” Relations between France and China suffered a major setback in December over President Nicolas Sarkozy’s meeting with the Dalai Lama in Poland.

Angered by plans to hold the meeting, Beijing took the unprecedented step of postponing a summit with the European Union in France that had been scheduled for Dec 1.

At the time, France held the rotating presidency of the EU.—AFP