Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) arrives in Nice, France, Nov 2, 2011. Hu arrived in France on Wednesday to attend a summit of the Group of Twenty (G20). [Photo/Xinhua]

NICE, France - Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in France on Wednesday to attend a summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) that aims to check the downturn of the global economy and achieve financial stability.

Hu flew in following a visit to Austria.

After his arrival in Nice, the Chinese president traveled by car to Cannes for the G20 summit, slated for Thursday and Friday.

At the meeting, the G20 leaders were expected to address the major problems affecting the world economic recovery and the stability of the global financial market.

They were to discuss the eurozone debt crisis, reform of the international monetary system, the strengthening of financial regulations, and the combating of inflation.

President Hu was expected to deliver speeches at the meeting to elaborate on China's stand on the issues expected to be discussed at the summit.

In a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy last week, President Hu exchanged views concerning the Cannes summit.

"The G20 has become an important platform for global economic governance," said Hu.

China, Hu said, hopes the G20 would, by means of the Cannes summit, convey "a strong signal of growth and stability to the international community" and make continued efforts to promote "robust, sustainable and balanced growth for the world economy."

"China is ready to work together with other G20 members to make the Cannes summit a meeting of unity, success and mutual benefit," the Chinese president said.

Sarkozy said he hoped the parties to the summit would adopt common measures to ensure world economic growth.

Hu was also expected to meet other G20 leaders on the sidelines of the meeting.

The G20 was created in December 1999 in response to the financial crises affecting the emerging countries in the late 1990s.

Confronted with a global financial crisis, the heads of state and government of G20 members met for the first time in Washington in November 2008 to work out an action plan to prevent the financial system and the global economy from collapsing.

Since then, leaders of the G20 members met regularly: in London in April 2009, Pittsburgh in September 2009, Toronto in June 2010, and Seoul in November 2010.

In the past three years, the G20 members have taken drastic steps to support the global economy, and to address problems of global macro-economic imbalances and the inadequacies of financial regulation.

The G20, which accounts for 85 percent of global output and two thirds of the world's population, has become the premier forum for economic and financial cooperation.

The G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

Cannes, the host city of the G20 summit, lies on southeastern France's Mediterranean coast. With its outstanding climate and beautiful setting, the city is a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival.