Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived on Sunday for a state visit, and he will attend the outreach session of the Group of Eight (G8) summit scheduled for Thursday in the central Italian city of L'aquila.

In a statement released upon his arrival at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Hu said he is very glad to come to this beautiful country for a state visit at the invitation of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

"I believe that under joint effort of both sides, this visit will be a total success and help advance the all-round strategic partnership between China and Italy to a new stage," Hu said in the statement.

Noting both China and Italy are countries with a long history of civilization, Hu said the two peoples enjoy a long-standing friendship.

"China places great importance on expanding relations with Italy," Hu said, adding China is ready to join effort with Italy to bring in an even brighter future of bilateral relations.

In Rome, President Hu will meet President Napolitano, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and other Italian leaders to discuss the development of bilateral cooperation.

In recent years, the all-round strategic partnership between China and Italy has witnessed continuous development as political mutual trust has become deeper and deeper, and cooperation and exchanges in various fields have expanded rapidly.

The two countries have maintained close coordination on world affairs and expanded people-to-people exchanges and cultural cooperation.

China is now Italy's important trading partner with the two-way trade totaling US$38.2 billion in 2008 despite the slowdown of the global economy.

The two countries have also expanded cooperation in the sectors of economy, culture, science and environmental protection in recent years.

In L'aquila, the Chinese president will attend the outreach session of the G8 summit and other meetings.

According to Italy, the host of the 35th G8 summit, leaders from the G8 and major developing countries will hold talks from Wednesday to Friday on the world economy, the financial crisis, climate change, food security, trade and development.

President Hu will attend a group meeting Wednesday with leaders from India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico. They are expected to exchange views on the issues of common concern.

At the outreach session of the G8 summit Thursday, leaders of the G8 nations, China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico, and Egypt, a special guest of the Italian president, will discuss a number of pressing issues, such as the world economy, the financial crisis, and international trade.

This is the sixth time that the Chinese president has attended the G8 outreach session. The previous one took place in the northern Japanese resort of Toyako last July.

The G8, an informal forum of leading industrialized nations, groups Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, the United States, Canada and Russia.

President Hu will also attend the Major Economies Forum (MEF) on energy security and climate change Thursday.

Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi described the forum in L'aquila as a "crucial step in the preparatory work paving the way for the UN conference in Copenhagen this December."