Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), left here on Tuesday morning for an official goodwill visit to Myanmar, Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

He paid the visit at the invitation of the chief of General Staff of the Myanmar Armed Forces Shwe Mann, the chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam's People's Army Nguyen Khac Nghien and the chairman of the ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Tae-young.

(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2009)