China, Russia Join Against U.S. Missile Defense

By Jeremy Page

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin showed a united front on Thursday against U.S. plans to build a national missile defense (NMD) system.

But Jiang sounded a conciliatory note on sensitive China-U.S. ties, calling for a ``constructive'' relationship with Washington, according to Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

Jiang and Putin met in Shanghai to kick off a six-nation summit aimed at combating Islamic militancy in Central Asia just days before Putin is due to meet President Bush in Slovenia.

The Shanghai Five -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- and the group's new member Uzbekistan are expected to join forces against Bush's missile defense plans as he heads into a summit with the European Union.

``President Putin reiterated Russia's principled position on that matter and China stated that it will continue *****pport Russia in its efforts to maintain the global equilibrium,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao told a news conference.

Jiang's meeting with Putin was the first of three planned for this year as Moscow and Beijing, former rivals for leadership of the Communist world, forge a new alliance based largely on fears of Islamic separatist unrest and on opposition to U.S. policies.

On NMD, Ivanov said: ``Our views on this fully coincide with China.''

But he added that Jiang and Putin had discussed the Russian leader's coming meeting with Bush.

``The Chinese side attaches great importance to its relations with the United States for international stability,'' he said. ``The Chinese leadership intends to pursue a constructive policy in its relations with Washington.''

CHINA TO STUDY PROPOSALS

Kremlin officials said on Wednesday Bush's NMD plan posed a threat to global security, backing up China's frequent warnings that the plan could trigger a new global arms race.

Moscow and Beijing also share common ground in seeking to offset growing U.S. influence in oil-rich Central Asia, where the Russian and British empires jostled for power in the Great Game of the 19th Century, analysts say.

The United States is already the largest foreign investor in Kazakhstan's oil and gas industries and Washington has provided millions of dollars in military aid to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The Shanghai Five, formed in 1996 to resolve lingering Sino-Soviet border disputes, admitted Uzbekistan as a new member on Thursday and agreed to change its name to the ''Shanghai Cooperation Organization,'' Zhu said.

The group would sign two agreements on Friday, one on the establishment of the new organization and one on boosting cross-border cooperation to combat ``extremists, separatists and terrorists,'' he said.

The chief concern of most member states is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which has led armed incursions across the region over the last two years in an attempt to create an independent Islamic state.

Underlining its determination to crack down on the group, Uzbekistan jailed 73 people last week for up to 18 years for aiding IMU gunmen who killed 20 Uzbek soldiers in a raid on the south of the country last year.

FEARS OF UNREST

China fears such unrest will fuel a separatist movement in its northwestern region of Xinjiang, where Muslim radicals from the Uighur ethnic minority have carried out bomb attacks and murdered government officials.

Authorities have thrown a tight security net around Shanghai for the summit, only revealing the meeting's venue to reporters late on Wednesday.

Security is of paramount importance at the meeting, which is seen as a test of China's ability to hold a large international event as it campaigns to host the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing.

Reporters were required to go through two security checks before every meeting and were whisked by bus to and from the venues through streets specially cordoned off for the summit.

The city government plans to shut down major roads, close schools and encourage businesses to take a day off on Friday to guarantee its guests a swift and safe passage.



MILOU

Chinese, Russian Presidents Meet, Friendship Treaty to Be Signed
President Jiang Zemin Meets Russian President Vladimir Putin
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President Jiang Zemin met Thursday in Shanghai with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who arrived here for the sixth "Shanghai Five" summit.
The two leaders exchanged opinions concerning Sino-Russian relations and major issues of common concern in a sincere and friendly atmosphere.
Jiang expressed his welcome to Putin's visit to Shanghai during the meeting.
Noting that the two presidents, together with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, will upgrade the "Shanghai Five" mechanism to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Friday, Jiang said that "this will have great importance to the development of our bilateral relations, the maintenance of regional security and stability and the promotion of multi-polarization of the world."
Putin thanked Jiang for inviting him to the summit. He noted that the "Shanghai Five" process has been developing smoothly.
"Now that we have got a new direction of development, and will have new member joining, this will surely further expand cooperation among the member states," Putin said.
The two leaders expressed their satisfaction over the development of the bilateral ties. Putin said that there is now a trend for more active and rapidly growing bilateral ties between the two countries, and that the two countries could do more things in many fields.
Putin expressed his welcome to Jiang's important state visit to Russia in July this year.
Noting that this is the first meeting of the two leaders this year, Jiang said he is very glad that they will have several chances this year to meet and discuss major issues of common concern.
Jiang described the sound working relations between the two countries and personal friendship between the two leaders as offering an important guarantee to the steady development of the Sino-Russian relations.
The Chinese president said he is looking forward to the state visit to Russia next month, when the two leaders will sign a pact on Sino-Russian good-neighborly friendship and cooperation.
The pact will function as a legal document guiding the development of the Sino-Russian relations in the new century and will have a deep and far-reaching impact on the steady development of the bilateral ties in the long run, Jiang said.
Putin reiterated Russia's principle and stance on the missile defense issue. Jiang expressed the view that China will continue *****pport Russia's efforts in maintaining global strategic stability. The two sides agree to keep a close contact on the issue.
The two leaders also exchanged their views of points on other global and regional issues of common concern.
Friendship Treaty to Be Signed
President Jiang Zemin will travel to Russia next month to sign the Sino-Russian friendship treaty, it was disclosed in Shanghai during a meeting between Jiang and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Thursday afternoon.
The long-awaited China-Russia Good Neighborly Friendship Cooperation Treaty will serve as an important legal document guiding the development of future bilateral relations, the two presidents agreed.
During the meeting, President Putin reiterated Russia's principled stance on the anti-ballastic missile issue. Chinese President Jiang Zemin pledged China will continue *****pport Russian efforts in maintaining global strategic stability, and the two presidents agreed to keep close contact on this issue.
Both Russia and China oppose to US plan to deploy the national missile defense system and theater missile defense system, saying that the 1972 Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty is the cornerstone in maintaining world peace, stability and world strategic balance.
Putin arrived in Shanghai Thursday morning to attend the sixth summit of the Shanghai Five, a meeting mechanism established in 1996 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikstan.
During this year summit meetings on Thursday and Friday, presidents of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia Tajikstan and Uzbekstan will declare the founding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional multilateral cooperation body, to replace the Shanghai Five.
first of three this year
Just days before Putin is to meet US President George W. Bush in Slovenia, the Chinese and Russian leaders were expected to show a united front against US plans to build a national missile defence (NMD) system, according to a Reuter report.
Shanghai threw a tight security net for the meeting of the Shanghai Five -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- only revealing the summit venue to reporters late on Wednesday.
The group, set up in 1996 to resolve Sino-Soviet border disputes, was expected to admit a new member, Uzbekistan, and to sign an agreement boosting cross-border cooperation between them.
Security is of paramount importance at the summit, which is seen as a test of Shanghai's ability to hold a larger international event, the upcoming informal summit meeting of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in October. US President Bush will join the summit.
"This is a meeting of heads of state, so security must be very tight," said a city official. "This is quite normal."
Reporters are required to go through security checks before every meeting and are whisked by bus to and from the venues through streets cordoned off for the summit.
Jiang's meeting with Putin is the first of three planned for this year.
Shanghai Five members are expected to sign two documents at the summit, one establishing the grouping as a "multilateral regional organisation", and another on boosting cross-border cooperation.
Putin Highly Comments on "Shanghai Five" Mechanism
Putin Interviewed by Chinese Media
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said the "Shanghai Five" mechanism has created a favorable atmosphere for developing relations among its member states and laid a foundation for their cooperation in all fields.
Since its founding five years ago, the "Shanghai Five" has adopted two main fundamental documents -- the Agreement on Confidence-Building in the Military Sphere in the Border Areas and the Agreement on Mutual Reduction of Military Forces in Border Areas, Putin told Xinhua prior to his trip to Shanghai for the sixth "Shanghai Five" summit on Friday.
The countries have taken measures to further boost mutual confidence in the border areas and those measures have laid a foundation for their cooperation in other fields, Putin said.
The "Shanghai Five" groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
To safeguard security in the region, the president called on the five nations to work jointly in cracking down on religious extremism, terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking and weapon smuggling.
He also urged them to expand cooperation in the fields of humanities, education, science and technology, culture and economy.
Having laid a foundation for full-swing cooperation between its members, the "Shanghai Five" mechanism has won great interest of other countries in the region to further develop cooperation with it, said the president.
Putin said the upcoming five-country summit to be held Friday in Shanghai will discuss Uzbekistan's accession to this organization.
Putin highly commented on the current Russia-China relations as well as the important role Chinese President Jiang Zemin has played in pushing forward such good-neighborly and friendly relations.
He said both Russia and China are making preparations for Jiang 's upcoming state visit to Russia in mid July, which is considered the most important event in Russia-China relations this year.
Putin said Russia and China have many common interests in safeguarding global security and creating a multipolar world. He promised more efforts in coordinating the two countries' stands in international affairs.
He also stressed the importance of economic cooperation between Russia and China, highlighting the bright prospects and great potentials for cooperation in energy, high technology and space.
Commenting on the treaty on good-neighborly and friendly cooperation between Russia and China to be signed soon by the two countries' top leaders, Putin said the new treaty, designed for the new century, will serve as important guidelines for bilateral relations in a rather long period.
Talking about Russia's domestic situation, Putin said the country has achieved political stability and economic development in the past year. Those achievements, he said, are the result of the unity of Russian society, which brings the country the highest economic growth rate in the past 30 years.
Most Russian citizens have realized that their country should implement modernization and accelerate economic development to meet the demands of the 21st century, Putin said.
China has had speedy economic growth for many years and Russia' s top task is to make greatest efforts *****stain its development rate, he added.
Asked about Russia's future development, Putin said Russia will go toward a modernized democratic country with a flourishing economy and perfect social security system.