Posted on 10/28/2001 4:56:32 PM PST by Orion78
BEIJING, OCTOBER 28, 2001. /RIA Novosti correspondent/ -- The Standing Committee of the All-China Assembly of People's Representatives considered and ratified the Russian-Chinese Treaty on Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports.
The Treaty, which laid a long-term legal foundation for developing Russian-Chinese strategic partnership, was signed by President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation and President Jiang Zemin of China in Moscow in July 2001.
In compliance with the Chinese procedures for ratifying international legal documents Jiang Zemin is now obliged to issue a special decree and approve the decision of Chinese parliamentarians.
The Russian-Chinese Treaty will come into force from the moment of exchanging instruments of ratification between the Russian and Chinese sides.
A non-important entity. Nice propagandy try, though.
The leaders of Russia and China yesterday signed their first friendship treaty in 50 years and reaffirmed support for the ABM Treaty to curb U.S. missile-defense plans. The treaty, signed yesterday by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin, affirmed the strategic friendship and cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, bitter rivals for influence in the communist world during the Cold War. "We believe that more active cooperation between our countries in discussing missile defenses and disarmament will enhance our efforts in building a multipolar world and establishing a fair, rational international order," Mr. Jiang said, referring to the dominant role of the United States in global affairs. Calling the document "historic," Mr. Putin, said: " we presume this document will form the basis for stability in international relations as a whole."The treaty, which replaces an outdated 1950 version signed by Josef Stalin and Mao Tse-tung that failed to prevent a 1969 border war, commits the signatories to "mutual efforts to support global strategic balance and stability." The United States yesterday downplayed the effect of a new treaty on Washington's global role and said it didn't see the pact as "any particular threat to us or to our plans." Reiterating U.S. determination to go ahead with its plans, the State Department said the Russia-China pact would not change the strategic balance of power, because it was not a defense alliance between the two countries. "We've never felt that this was a zero-sum game," said Richard Boucher, State Department spokesman. "We've felt that it's important for us to have good relations with Russia and with China, and we've always felt it's important for them to have good relations with each other. They have a long border in a key region, and it's important for them to get along. So we don't see it as any particular threat to us or to our plans."
Although they said the document was not aimed at a third party, Mr. Putin and Mr. Jiang reaffirmed their faith in the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) as the cornerstone of international stability. The Bush administration has said the treaty, which is the only hurdle to building a missile-defense shield, should be scrapped or substantially amended. In Moscow, where Mr. Jiang is on a four-day visit, the two leaders said the Good Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation would help safeguard peace. The Russia-China summit followed a successful test of the U.S. anti-missile system, which was condemned in both capitals, as well as Beijing's victory in the bid for hosting the 2008 summer Olympic Games on Friday. Mr. Putin flies to Genoa, Italy, later this week for the annual gathering of the world's leading economies and Russia, where missile defense is certain to be high on the agenda.
Both Moscow and Beijing denounced the U.S. missile test, with Russia asking, "why should we lead things to a point where we threaten the whole architecture in the field of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, at the heart of which lies" the ABM agreement. China's Foreign Ministry said, "It is not favorable to global strategic balance and stability." In the new treaty, Russia reiterated its support for the Chinese claim on Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province. "Russia acknowledges that there is only one China, the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China," the document said. "Russia opposes any kind of independence for Taiwan."
Mr. Putin and Mr. Jiang also pledged to resolve two small remaining border disputes and to boost trade. Although China has bought billions of dollars worth of Russian jets, submarines, missiles and destroyers, Moscow's trade with Beijing is still far short of China's annual trade with Japan or the United States. "We have a realistic view of the situation," Mr. Putin said. "Russia accounts for just 2 percent in China's trade, but that means that we have good prospects." The two leaders agreed to expand cooperation in the spheres of oil and gas, energy, aircraft building, communications and new technologies.
In Washington, a report issued yesterday by the East-West Institute's Bipartisan Task Force pronounced a "historic opportunity" to redefine the nature of U.S.-Russian relations. Former Sen. Alan K. Simpson, co-chairman of the task force, told reporters and editors at The Washington Times that "the time has come to listen and not to lecture" the Russian people. The report makes a number of recommendations, including increased transparency on the part of both countries, discussion of the security relationship and U.S. promotion of "Russia's integration into global institutions such as the World Trade Organization." Although "transparency is an overused word, it's critical that we both know what we're doing," Mr. Simpson said.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.