On May 26, 2003, at the invitations of President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin of the Russian Federation, President Jacques Chirac of the Republic of France, President Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan and President Nachagyn Bagabandy of Mongolia, President Hu Jintao of the People’s Republic of China left Beijing on his special plane to pay state visits to the Russian Federation, the Republic of Kazakhstan and Mongolia and attend the third Summit Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to be held in Moscow, the celebrations of the tri-centennial anniversary of the establishment of the city of St. Petersburg and the leaders’ informal dialogue meeting between the North and the South to be held at Evian, France.

Among Hu's entourage are his wife Liu Yongqing, State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Minister Lu Fuyuan of Commerce, Director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC (Communist Party of China) Central Committee Wang Huning, Deputy Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee Ling Jihua, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Guchang and Vice Minister ofthe State Development and Reform Commission Zhang Guobao.