BEIJING, July 30 (RIA Novosti) - Chinese President Hu Jintao and his wife Liu Yongqing left Beijing early Thursday morning on an official visit to Moscow.Hu Jintao will be accompanied by a delegation, including State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, and other high-ranking officials. According to Li Hui, China's assistant foreign minister, Hu Jintao's schedule includes talks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, and the speakers of the Federation Council (the upper chamber of parliament) and the State Duma (lower chamber).
On July 3, upon completing his visit, Hu Jintao will depart Moscow for the Kazakh capital, Astana, where two days later he will attend a summit of the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which unites China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and host nation Kazakhstan.