Chinese President Hu Jintao left the Kazakh capital of Astana on July 6 for Scotland, Britain, for an informal meeting between Group of Eight (G8) leaders and leaders of five developing countries.

Hu just concluded a state visit to Kazakhstan and attended a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

During his visit, Hu held talks with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev on furthering bilateral cooperation and the two leaders exchanged views on regional and world issues.

Relations between China and Kazakhstan have developed rapidly in the past years, featuring deep political mutual trust and close cooperation in economy, trade, energy and other areas.

The two leaders announced the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan to promote peace, stability and prosperity of the two countries.

The two sides also signed a series of cooperation documents during Hu's visit.

At the SCO summit Tuesday, Hu and leaders of the other five SCO member states, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan discussed issues of safeguarding peace, security and stability in the region, and promoting economic and trade cooperation among member countries.

The SCO was formed four years ago with an aim to promote effective cooperation among the six member states in political affairs, economy, trade, energy, transportation and other fields, and to safeguard peace, security and stability in the region.

Kazakhstan is the second leg of Hu's three-nation tour. He had already visited Russia.

In Scotland, the Chinese president will attend an informal meeting between G8 leaders and leaders of five developing countries -- China, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa. Some pressing issues, such as the global economy and climate change, will be top on the agenda at the summit.

Source: Xinhua