July 18, 2000
Russia and China Join Forces to Denounce U.S. Anti-Missile Shield
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
EIJING -- Putting their burgeoning partnership on display, the Russian and Chinese presidents on Tuesday denounced U.S. plans to build an anti-missile shield and agreed to closer cooperation on international affairs.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Russian President Vladimir Putin wrapped up nearly three hours of closed-door talks with a public signing ceremony. Among the five documents they and their aides signed, two took aim at the United States, singling out the proposed high-tech national missile defense system.
In a joint statement, Beijing and Moscow accused Washington of using the system "to seek unilateral military and security advantages that will pose the most grave, adverse consequences" to China, Russia and the United States itself.
Putin and Jiang urged Washington to adhere to the 28-year-old Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which prohibits the missile defense system. Their statement warned that altering the treaty "will trigger an arms race and lead to an about-face in the positive trend that appeared in world politics after the end of the Cold War."
Washington argues that its proposed national shield is not aimed at China and Russia but against missiles from North Korea and other smaller states hostile to U.S. interests.
Putin and Jiang, in their statement, said "the pretext of a missile threat is totally unjustified."
Beyond criticizing the United States, Jiang and Putin issued a separate statement committing China and Russia to "work together in the international arena to promote peace and stability in the world."
Their aides signed agreements on banking and energy cooperation. One accord will see Russia build an experimental fast neutron reactor in China.
Tuesday's meeting was Jiang and Putin's second in three weeks, after a Central Asian summit. Once bitter rivals for the allegiance of the communist world, Beijing and Moscow began steadily improving ties in the late 1980s. In recent years, they have found common cause in concerns about U.S. dominance in world affairs.
After a 21-gun salute, Jiang squired Putin along a red carpet to review a military honor guard on Tiananmen Square. The presidents then met privately for two hours, double the time scheduled, before their foreign and defense ministers and other officials joined them for formal talks.
Afterwards, Jiang and Putin said their talks cemented already strong ties. Putin invited Jiang to visit Moscow next year.
In a swipe against U.S. bullying, NATO and last year's war on Yugoslavia, Putin and Jiang pledged that their countries would cooperate to "defy hegemonism" and oppose attempts to "threaten others by force or to interfere in other countries' internal affairs."
They also criticized a U.S. proposal for a more limited anti-missile system to protect its troops and allies in East Asia, which Beijing fears would undermine its claim to Taiwan.
"The incorporation of Taiwan into any foreign missile defense system is unacceptable," said the statement, which was released by China's official Xinhua News Agency.
Still, China and Russia can ill afford to alienate the United States. Their economic fortunes largely depend on foreign investment, the flow of which is aided by smooth relations with the West.
Beijing's large-scale purchases of Russian weapons aside, trade remains at frustratingly low levels between China and Russia despite repeated vows by their leaders to boost economic ties.
