960427

China sees

warmer ties with

Russia after

Yeltsin visit

SHANGHAI: China gave Russian President Boris Yeltsin a glowing send-off on Saturday, trumpeting new and warmer ties after his three-day visit that saw the signing of a historic treaty to prevent military clashes on their border.

"China and Russia not only now have very good relations, the two countries will also witness such relations into the 21st century," Chinese President and Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin told Yeltsin before he left from Shanghai.

Yeltsin left for the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan which -- along with China, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- signed the landmark pact in Shanghai on Friday to reduce movements of military forces along their mutual borders.

The treaty effectively sets up a 100 km zone along either side of their 7,640 km of borders in which they may carry out troop movements only after notifying each other and all must be informed about basic weapons and armour in the zone.

China's Communist Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily, described the document as of "important immediate and historic significance" and cited it as powerful evidence against critics who say China's rising military might poses a "China threat".

"We made the first step toward a long-cherished Asian security system," Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akayev said after the signing.

The five-nation treaty on confidence building was the climax of Yeltin's three-day visit, which began in Beijing on Wednesday with a bear-hug for his Chinese counterpart.

The presidents of the two giant neighbours signed a joint communique in Beijing pledging to a strategic 21st century partnership and warning the West not to try to dominate the post-Cold War world, but stopping short of an alliance.

Jiang and Yeltsin also agreed to install a telephone hotline linking their capitals and signed a raft of economic, trade and cooperation agreements.-Reuter