President Hu departs for APEC summit

(AP)
Updated: 2006-11-15 19:38

BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao departed Wednesday for a state visit to four Asian nations, starting with Vietnam, where he is to attend the APEC summit later this week.

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After Vietnam, Hu will go to Laos, India and Pakistan.

Hu arrived in the central Vietnamese city of Danang Wednesday, the Xinhua News Agency said.

At the November 18-19 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi, Hu is expected to push for greater APEC cooperation and for the restarting of the Doha round of WTO trade talks, according to Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai.

Hu will also meet U.S. President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe separately on the summit's sidelines, with whom he is likely to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue.

Hu is scheduled to visit Laos from November 19 to November 20, India from November 20 to November 23 and Pakistan from November 23 to November 26.



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