French foreign minister meets top Chinese officials

France's foreign minister has met top Chinese officials in preparation for a visit by French president Nicolas Sarkozy in November, AFP reported. The foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, met Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to discuss sensitive issues like China's role in Myanmar and Sudan and sanctions on Iran. China and France are at odds over many of these issues. Kouchner said Sarkozy could raise issues like China's human rights problems when he visits China for the first time in November. Sarkozy's relationship with Beijing could depart from the cozy precedent set by his predecessor Jacques Chirac, analysts said.