A sign of just how seriously the Chinese government views rioting in northwest China between members of the Uighur minority and Han Chinese is that President Hu Jintao is returning to Beijing after arriving in Rome for the G8 summit.

A Reuters report:

ROME, July 8 (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao is flying back to Beijing following rioting in a northwestern region of China and will miss this week's G8 summit hosted by Italy, Italian news agency Ansa said on Wednesday.

Ansa quoted a senior official at the Chinese embassy in Rome as saying that the president had to return home "because of internal affairs and the situation in Xinjiang".

Bloody ethnic clashes in the capital of Xinjiang earlier this week killed 156 people.

The G8 summit is due to open in central Italy later on Wednesday.