PARIS - French foreign ministry said on Saturday that France is ready to help the Chinese government to provide any assistance they may need after a devastating earthquake in Southwest China's Sichuan province.
"It is with deep emotion that we learned a new earthquake ... had hit Sichuan province," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"France shares the grief of the Chinese people, already being deeply wounded by the disaster in May 2008 in Sichuan Province," the ministry added.
The 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Lushan county of Ya'an city in the province at 8:02 am Saturday Beijing time, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.