China's top legislator Wu Bangguo left Beijing Tuesday morning for an official goodwill visit to Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.  

Wu serves as chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature. He pays the visit at the invitation of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Parliament Speaker Abdullah Tarmugi; Paul Henry Calvert, president of the Senate of the Australian Federal Parliament, and David Hawker, speaker of the Australian House of Representatives; Margaret Wilson, speaker of House of Representatives of New Zealand; and Ramli Ngah Talib, speaker of House of Representatives of the Malaysian Parliament.

Wu's entourage includes his wife Zhang Ruizhen, Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Raidi, Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo and Vice Commerce Minister Wei Jianguo.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2005)