Chairmen of the Parliaments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow's Kremlin. Russia and China moved to fortify their growing security cooperation in Central Asia but reassured the United States that their new-found unity of purpose in the region was not designed to subvert US interests there.[AFP]

Presidents of Mongolia, Pakistan and Iran, three SCO observers, will also attend the summit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news briefing.

On the sidelines of the summit, Chinese President Hu Jintao will hold bilateral meetings with presidents of the SCO members and observers, including Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Liu said.

The spokesman said China had discussed Iran's nuclear issue with the country in the past and will continue to do so in the future to improve mutual understanding.

"China will continue to make positive efforts to help peacefully solve the Iran nuclear issue through negotiations," Liu said when asked whether the nuclear issue will be raised at the meeting between Hu and Ahmadinejad.

India, another SCO observer, will send its Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora to the summit, Liu said.

Liu also confirmed that Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Executive Secretary Vladimir Rushailo of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Deputy Secretary-General Wilfrido. V. Villacorta of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will attend the summit as guests.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing met in Beijing yesterday with visiting Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, exchanging views on the Iran nuclear issue.

Both Li and Araghchi agreed the Iran nuclear issue should be solved through negotiation.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai held talks with Araghchi yesterday.

China yesterday called for a positive response to the proposals offered by the five UN Security Council permanent members and Germany on the nuclear question.

SCO summit means holiday for Shanghainese

The upcoming Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO) summit is being greeted with extra warmth by residents of Shanghai, as many will be given five days holiday during the event.

According to a notice issued by the municipal government at the end of May, all the city's school children, civil servants and some private sector workers will not have to work from next Wednesday to Sunday (June 14-18). However, they will have to clock in this weekend.

The notice said the holiday is due to some specific traffic control measures in the city during the summit period.

Many residents are preparing to travel outside Shanghai during the holiday, dubbed a "Mini Golden Week" by travel agents who have reported a surge in reservations.

According to Zhang Lei, spokesman for the Spring International Travel Service in Shanghai, reservations are twice as high as normal for the time of year.

"The current demand is close to the peak period before the May Day vacation," he said. "South China's Hainan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are very popular destinations on the mainland. Our charter-flight tours to the two places are already fully booked."

Hong Kong and Macao are the most popular destinations outside the Chinese mainland, and the company's tours are already sold out, he said.

Shanghai Railway Administration has announced that three additional trains will travel to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The administration estimates passenger numbers will be 10 per cent higher than usual, up to 120,000 people on the busiest days.

Zhang Qi, a secretary working for a State-owned company, said she has planned a three-day trip to Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province. However, when she tried to book a room yesterday, she found very few vacancies.

"I can predict the city of Hangzhou will be swarming with Shanghainese," she said.

Civil servant Zhu Jiang said he has been considering a trip to Hainan since he found out about the holiday.

"I will make the trip if I can ask enough friends of mine to travel together," he said. However, many of his friends working for private companies will not get time off during the summit.

"The SCO summit has given me a wonderful gift! But seriously, I do not think the summit will have much impact on our normal lives," he said.

A lot of work has been done to ensure the city does a good job hosting leaders of the six SCO member states China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as other international observers and representatives.

In an effort to improve the local environment, the government has taken measures to clean the river, expand greenery coverage and renovate a few public buildings.

The local traffic administration has made special provisions to control traffic, and all drivers involved in the event will be trained on safety and diplomatic etiquette.

"The traffic controls will have some impact on locals, but we will try to keep disruption to a minimum," said a source with the administration told China Daily.