Chinese President Hu Jintao sent a message of sympathy on Wednesday to his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush over the losses caused by Hurricane Gustav.

In the message, the Chinese president expressed the belief that the U.S. people, under the leadership of President Bush and their government, are surely able to conquer the natural disaster and minimize the losses.

Gustav struck the United States on Monday, sweeping through the U.S. Gulf Coast region including New Orleans city, Louisiana, which is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina that hit the area in 2005.

Millions of people in the U.S. Gulf Coast had fled before the arrival of Hurricane Gustav, which rendered many places without power and some community water and sewage systems out of service.

The storm killed more than 80 people in the Caribbean before being downgraded and hitting the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2008)