At the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II, German President Horst Koehler and Spanish King Juan Carlos I and ROK President Roh Moo-hyun, Chinese President Hu Jintao left Beijing on the morning of November 8 by a special plane for state visits to the above four countries and the 13th APEC Leaders' Informal Meeting in Pusan.

Also on the delegation were President Hu's wife Liu Yongqing, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Minister of the National Development and Reform Committee Ma Kai, Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai, Director of the Central Policy Research Center of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Wang Huning, Deputy Director of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Ling Jihua, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui, Vice Minister of Commerce Yi Xiaohuai, Director of the Presidential Office Chen Shiju, Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang and others.