President Hu Jintao extended Wednesday his condolences to US President George W. Bush over Monday's mass shooting incident at a university in the state of Virginia.

In a message to Bush, Hu said he was shocked to learn about the shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech, during which a South Korean student killed 32 people and wounded a number of others before shooting himself dead.

"At this sorrowful moment, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in the name of myself, I would like to express deep sympathy and sincere consolation to your excellency, the US government and people," Hu said in the message made public by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Hu also offered condolences to the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2007)