HEADS of state from the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization arrived in China's commercial powerhouse yesterday, where they were treated to a massive fireworks display along the city's famed riverfront in advance of today's annual summit.

The leaders taking part in the meeting are Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov and Uzbek President Islam Karimov.

The SCO, an intergovernmental organization that comprises the five countries and China, was established in Shanghai and is celebrating its fifth anniversary.

As they deplaned at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, the presidents were presented with bouquets from Shanghai children.

Yesterday afternoon, Hu joined the group to plant a magnolia tree at a hotel in western Shanghai.

The magnolia flower is the symbol of Shanghai, and as the trees can live for as long as 1,000 years, the planting was meant to symbolize the strength of the SCO.

At today's summit, the presidents are expected to review the organization's achievements, outline objectives for future cooperation and exchange ideas on major international and regional issues.

Summit organizers plan to issue a declaration and endorse a series of documents, including one creating a new security network.

On the sidelines of today's session, Hu will hold meetings with his counterparts from the other SCO members as well as participants from observer countries.

The four observer nations are represented by Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is attending the summit as a guest.

Also attending are representatives of international organizations that have established relations with the SCO, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

In an article published on the eve of the summit, Putin hailed the SCO for "having introduced new patterns of successful international cooperation."