RUSSIA - July 15 - Jiang Zemin Visits.

Chinese Pres. Jiang Zemin arrives in Moscow for a state visit. (His arrival follows the victory of Beijing's bid to stage the 2008 Summer Olympics and the successful test by the US of an anti-missile interceptor heralding the acceleration of US administration plans for a missile defence system, a step that Moscow and Beijing oppose as destabilising to the existing strategic balance. Andrei Kokoshin, former national security adviser under Boris Yeltsin, says: "Politically and diplomatically, the visit of the Chinese leader will add more weight and more importance to all aspects of collaboration between Russia and China". Kokoshin says Putin's constructive approach to Beijing will be a useful reminder to the Bush administration that "it is a big mistake to treat China as an enemy and potential competitor and any attempt to isolate them would be very dangerous and counterproductive"). On July 16, Moscow and Beijing signed a treaty of "friendship and co-operation". The 25 articles joined Russia and China formally in opposition against the US missile defence plans, placed Russia more firmly behind China's claim of sovereignty over the island of Taiwan, and strengthened military co-operation between Beijing and Moscow while rejecting the kind of humanitarian intervention that NATO undertook in the Balkans in 1999. Both Putin and Jiang Zemin said the treaty, the first such instrument signed since the era of Stalin and Mao, was an agreement between neighbours seeking a new stability for Asian growth and development rather than a document creating a military alliance. In a joint statement, they said they hoped for a "just and rational new international order" and that the merger of their interests were "not directed against third countries". The treaty says: "In case of the emergence of the threat of aggression, the two sides shall immediately make contact with each other and carry out consultations in order to eliminate the emerging threat". A Russian commentator described the treaty as "an act of friendship against America". The treaty says Moscow and Beijing "stand for strict observance of the generally recognised principles and norms of international law against any actions aimed at forced pressure or at interference, under any pretext, into domestic affairs of sovereign states". It adds: "The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China" and "Taiwan is an integral part of China". (The wording is certain to cause alarm on Taiwan, where pro-independence leaders look to the US to deflect any pressure from Beijing for reunification. Russia is China's largest supplier of high-tech weaponry, just as the US is Taiwan's under the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which requires Washington to defend the island adequately in the event of military action). On missile defence, the two leaders said: "Russia and China stress the basic importance of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which is a cornerstone of strategic stability and the basis for reducing offensive weapons". In a news conference that followed the signing ceremony, Pres. Jiang said: "We believe that more active co-operation between our countries in discussing missile defences and disarmament will enhance our efforts in building a multipolar world and establish a fair, rational international order". Putin said the two countries believe ties "will influence international affairs in a considerable and positive way".