Several state-run newspapers accused France -- and particularly Sarkozy -- of having deeply hurt China by defying repeated warnings not to hold talks with Tibet's spiritual leader.

"The French president knowingly offended the people he now says he wants to befriend, without showing repentance," the English-language China Daily said in an editorial.

The piece was published after France's ambassador to China held a press conference for domestic media on Thursday in a bid to ease tensions between the two nations, but the China Daily described the attempt as "a failure."

"His words revolved round that single message -- the Chinese should not have over-reacted," the newspaper said.

"Sounds like things had not gone wrong until the Chinese got fussy. Sarkozy was innocent and beyond reproach. China was being unreasonable."

"What is the logic here? Shall we apologise?"

The editorial said Chinese people "hate duplicity".

"For the French ambassador's and the president's information, the Chinese are forgiving but not on matters of sovereignty," it said.

According to a transcript of the press conference, Herve Ladsous, the ambassador, asked whether the "scale" of this "political and media agitation" was "completely justified," and if the Chinese reaction "was not excessive."

"I think that China would not tolerate personal attacks against its own President, Mr Hu Jintao, or against any of its leaders," he said, according to the transcript.

China is against any foreign leaders meeting with the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of seeking independence for Tibet -- a claim the Nobel Peace Prize laureate denies, saying he wants meaningful autonomy for the Himalayan region.

The Chinese government had repeatedly warned Sarkozy against meeting the Dalai Lama, and cancelled an EU-China summit due to take place on December 1 in protest at the planned talks, which eventually went ahead last Saturday.

Beijing also warned that trade ties between the two could be impacted, but so far, no reports of cancelled contracts have emerged.

But 10 years ago, a meeting between Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac, and the Dalai Lama in Paris to mark the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights did not attract such anger from China.

In an article Friday on the "wild ambition of the king of the world," the Global Times -- controlled by the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party -- relayed criticisms of Sarkozy printed in the foreign media.

"He is a poor human rights defender, and meanwhile, he roused the indignation of the Chinese people," it said.

Internet users, meanwhile, widely vented their anger, calling Sarkozy various insulting names -- the least abusive being "little clown."

This onslaught of criticism demonstrated that China had refused to let slide Sarkozy's perceived diplomatic faux-pas, despite assurances from the French foreign minister Tuesday that his president had not intended to cause offence.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao on Thursday rejected France's effort to mend ties over the meeting, saying it had to do much more.

"We don't think the explanation is valid or is going to solve the current difficulties," Liu told reporters at a regular briefing.

earlier related report
China's Hu in human rights pledge
President Hu Jintao has vowed that China will work with the international community in promoting human rights, state media said Friday, but the promise follows recent arrests of leading activists.

Hu said China would "base its human rights development on the basic situation of the country," Xinhua news agency said, a caveat used by China to apply its own human rights standards.

Hu's comments came in a letter to the China Society for Human Rights Studies to mark Wednesday's 60th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Several Chinese dissidents have been detained in the lead-up to the anniversary, including prominent dissident writer Liu Xiaobo, a leading figure in the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests.

The detentions drew criticism from the United States on Thursday, with the State Department expressing "deep concern."

Hu's letter said China would "strengthen international cooperation, as it has always done, in the human rights field," Xinhua said.

However, he indicated China would prioritise raising living standards for its people.

Faced with criticism over its human rights record, China typically replies that lifting people out of poverty through economic development is its key human rights priority.

Police on Friday continued to refuse comment about Liu's detention.

"We don't have any information about him," a staff member in the spokesman's office of the Beijing police told AFP by phone.

Liu, 53, a doctor of literature from Beijing Normal University, served 20 months in prison over the Tiananmen protests and has been under police surveillance, in labour camps or house arrest for much of the time since.

He was taken from his home on Monday after he and more than 300 other dissidents, intellectuals and journalists signed a charter calling for greater protection of human rights, free elections and an end to the Communist Party's dominance of the military, courts and government.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama welcomed Hu's pledge, calling it a "laudable initiative" but urged China to release "prisoners of conscience" who have been detained for exercising freedom of expression.

"I would like to urge the Chinese leadership to consider making efforts to bring about unity and stability in a civilised way," the Buddhist monk said in a statement.

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