Beijing - Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie left Saturday for an official visit to Russia , local media reported. At the invitation of his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov, Liang will attend the defence ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Moscow, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in 2001 to enhance cooperation between its six member states China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. (dpa)