7 leaders to visit China, attend SCO summit

BEIJING - National leaders from seven countries will visit China and attend the 12th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) from June 1 to 9, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin announced Thursday.

The leaders include Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Uzbek President Islam Karimov, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Liu made the announcement at a regular press briefing, adding that their visits will come at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao.