BEIJING, March 26 France is to send high-level political and business delegations to China in a bid to mend relations strained by a row over Tibet, Chinese state media reported on Thursday.

The official China Daily also indicated that a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao at next week's G20 meeting in London had not been completely ruled out.

“Former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin will lead a delegation of executives from 10 major French companies to attend the China-France Economic Seminar in Beijing in early April,” the newspaper said.

The head of France's National Assembly and former presidents Jacques Chirac and Valery Giscard d'Estaing were also due to visit China, it said.

Relations between China and France nosedived after Sarkozy met with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in Poland in December last year, prompting Beijing to postpone an EU-China summit.

China opposes any government figure meeting the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of being intent on achieving independence for Tibet after 58 years of Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama denies this, saying he wants meaningful autonomy.

The auctioning in Paris last month of a pair of relics looted from China by French and British forces during the Second Opium War in 1860 has added a further irritant to relations.

China on Monday named several world leaders that Hu planned to meet on the G20's sidelines, but the list did not include Sarkozy.

However the China Daily, quoting a Chinese academic called Pang Zhongying, indicated a form of contact between the two might be possible.

“It's possible (Hu and Sarkozy) may engage in some kind of interaction at the summit,” Pang was quoted as saying.

The newspaper also quoted a French diplomat as saying that “China did not rule out a meeting, but rather said it 'now has no plan' for one.” “It would be a loss for both countries if they don't cooperate,” the newspaper quoted Pang as saying.

“China and France share common interests on issues such as IMF reform and the financial crisis.”—AFP