Yeltsin in Beijing to boost partnership (November 9, 1997)
BEIJING (CNN) -- Russian President Boris Yeltsin arrived in Beijing on Sunday for two days of talks aimed at boosting trade relations. He will also sign a treaty with China defining the 2,800-mile eastern border that the two countries fought over for three decades.
"This is a big success. The border demarcation alone made it worth coming here," Yeltsin told reporters as he arrived in Beijing for his third visit in five years. The accord, however, does not cover certain contested territories.
Yeltsin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin are to sign the agreement Monday. On Tuesday, Yeltsin flies to the northeastern city of Harbin, which was a key base for anti-communist Russians in the 1920s and 1930s.
The meeting agenda
Historical highlights of Chinese-Russian relations
Treaty of Nerchinsk establishes formal ties in 1689
Both nations fight with allies in World Wars I and II
Soviets supply China's Communist insurgents with weapons and military training during 1946-49 civil war
Josef Stalin and Mao Tse-tung sign 30-year alliance in 1950
Border dispute begins in mid-1960s
Soviets begin military buildup along border in 1967
Soviets and Chinese re-establish positive ties in 1989
Source: 'China: A Nation in Transition,' published by Congressional Quarterly
With all but a few miles of their long-standing border dispute settled, Jiang and Yeltsin likely will focus on their nations' sagging trade relations.
The neighbors have had intermittent trade ties since the days of the Roman empire. But in the last few years, their degree of economic exchange has plummeted.
The volume of their bilateral trade is paltry, given the size of the two giants. Trade for 1997 is not expected to reach the anemic $7 billion they exchanged in 1996. By contrast, China says its 1996 trade with Japan reached $60 billion, and its trade with the United States reached $43 billion.
Since the decline of the Soviet Union, weapons have been Russia's primary exports to China. More than a billion dollars worth were sold to China last year.
Russia would like to agree with China on a giant project that will tie the two nations together economically for a significant period of time.
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov arrived in Beijing before his boss in order to discuss 16 items with Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing, as the two worked to complete the agenda for Yeltsin's visit.
One option Russia plans to promote is a gas pipeline from Siberia to China and South Korea.
"So far we do not have a big enough project to become a kick-starter of practical cooperation. The $12 billion pipeline project may certainly become one," Nemtsov told reporters.
Another key summit topic is Russia's cooperation in building nuclear power plants.
'Glorious traditions of friendship'
Russia and China "have glorious traditions of friendship and common historical fates," Yeltsin told reporters last week. He added the nations have also benefited from "the bitter lessons of disagreement and the invaluable experience of cooperation."
For the most part, the nations have been friendly for centuries, with their formal ties dating back to 1689.
The expansion of the Russian border during the following two centuries would prompt leaders of the two empires to sign a series of border demarcation treaties. The border concerns would resurface nearly a century later, in the mid 1960s, and a series of skirmishes would stretch into 1989.
But with the exception of those three decades, their ties mostly have been close.
Both nations fought with the allies during both world wars. Their ties would peak following World War II, as Moscow fed China's civil war by supplying the Communist insurgents with a steady stream of weapons and military training.
After his rise to power, China's Communist leader, Mao Tse-tung, visited Moscow in 1950. There, he and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed a 30-year treaty of alliance aimed at presenting the United States with a united Communist front.
Friendship sours
Their partnership suffered a blow in 1959, when the Soviets withdrew their support for China's nuclear weapons program. By the 1960s, the Chinese and the Soviets were fighting over their border and disagreeing over the troubles in Vietnam.
By the 1970s, Beijing would snub Moscow in favor of Washington. For the next two decades, Chinese leaders would remain fickle, cozying up to which ever nation could do Beijing the most good.
By 1989, Chinese and Soviet leaders decided to again strengthen their ties. Mikhail Gorbachev traveled to Beijing in May of that year. His meeting with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was successful, though overshadowed by pro-democracy student demonstrations that turned deadly two weeks later.
The dismantling of the Soviet Union and the subsequent end of the Cold War troubled China, yet did much to force Beijing to reconsider its position in the world.
Relations between Russia and China have been boosted by their common view of a "multi-polar" world, meaning no single power should dominate.
Renewed cooperation
Ahead of Yeltsin's arrival, the Chinese touted the new cooperation with Russia along their shared border.
"The number of blockade runners, smugglers and drug dealers has sharply dropped thanks to concerted action by law enforcement agencies of the two countries," one Chinese official told China's Xinhua news agency.
Fanfare will consume much of Yeltsin's visit to China. China's state performing arts groups and media have made much to-do about his visit.
On the eve of Yeltsin's arrival, the China Broadcasting Chorus Troupe gave a concert of Russian folk songs as a "friendly gesture," the Xinhua news agency reported.
Yeltsin's pomp duties include the opening of an exhibition of czarist treasures. He'll also confer friendship awards on several Chinese artists and academics.
Correspondent Rebecca MacKinnon, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
"This is a big success. The border demarcation alone made it worth coming here," Yeltsin told reporters as he arrived in Beijing for his third visit in five years. The accord, however, does not cover certain contested territories.
Yeltsin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin are to sign the agreement Monday. On Tuesday, Yeltsin flies to the northeastern city of Harbin, which was a key base for anti-communist Russians in the 1920s and 1930s.
The meeting agenda
Historical highlights of Chinese-Russian relations
Treaty of Nerchinsk establishes formal ties in 1689
Both nations fight with allies in World Wars I and II
Soviets supply China's Communist insurgents with weapons and military training during 1946-49 civil war
Josef Stalin and Mao Tse-tung sign 30-year alliance in 1950
Border dispute begins in mid-1960s
Soviets begin military buildup along border in 1967
Soviets and Chinese re-establish positive ties in 1989
Source: 'China: A Nation in Transition,' published by Congressional Quarterly
With all but a few miles of their long-standing border dispute settled, Jiang and Yeltsin likely will focus on their nations' sagging trade relations.
The neighbors have had intermittent trade ties since the days of the Roman empire. But in the last few years, their degree of economic exchange has plummeted.
The volume of their bilateral trade is paltry, given the size of the two giants. Trade for 1997 is not expected to reach the anemic $7 billion they exchanged in 1996. By contrast, China says its 1996 trade with Japan reached $60 billion, and its trade with the United States reached $43 billion.
Since the decline of the Soviet Union, weapons have been Russia's primary exports to China. More than a billion dollars worth were sold to China last year.
Russia would like to agree with China on a giant project that will tie the two nations together economically for a significant period of time.
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov arrived in Beijing before his boss in order to discuss 16 items with Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing, as the two worked to complete the agenda for Yeltsin's visit.
One option Russia plans to promote is a gas pipeline from Siberia to China and South Korea.
"So far we do not have a big enough project to become a kick-starter of practical cooperation. The $12 billion pipeline project may certainly become one," Nemtsov told reporters.
Another key summit topic is Russia's cooperation in building nuclear power plants.
'Glorious traditions of friendship'
Russia and China "have glorious traditions of friendship and common historical fates," Yeltsin told reporters last week. He added the nations have also benefited from "the bitter lessons of disagreement and the invaluable experience of cooperation."
For the most part, the nations have been friendly for centuries, with their formal ties dating back to 1689.
The expansion of the Russian border during the following two centuries would prompt leaders of the two empires to sign a series of border demarcation treaties. The border concerns would resurface nearly a century later, in the mid 1960s, and a series of skirmishes would stretch into 1989.
But with the exception of those three decades, their ties mostly have been close.
Both nations fought with the allies during both world wars. Their ties would peak following World War II, as Moscow fed China's civil war by supplying the Communist insurgents with a steady stream of weapons and military training.
After his rise to power, China's Communist leader, Mao Tse-tung, visited Moscow in 1950. There, he and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed a 30-year treaty of alliance aimed at presenting the United States with a united Communist front.
Friendship sours
Their partnership suffered a blow in 1959, when the Soviets withdrew their support for China's nuclear weapons program. By the 1960s, the Chinese and the Soviets were fighting over their border and disagreeing over the troubles in Vietnam.
By the 1970s, Beijing would snub Moscow in favor of Washington. For the next two decades, Chinese leaders would remain fickle, cozying up to which ever nation could do Beijing the most good.
By 1989, Chinese and Soviet leaders decided to again strengthen their ties. Mikhail Gorbachev traveled to Beijing in May of that year. His meeting with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was successful, though overshadowed by pro-democracy student demonstrations that turned deadly two weeks later.
The dismantling of the Soviet Union and the subsequent end of the Cold War troubled China, yet did much to force Beijing to reconsider its position in the world.
Relations between Russia and China have been boosted by their common view of a "multi-polar" world, meaning no single power should dominate.
Renewed cooperation
Ahead of Yeltsin's arrival, the Chinese touted the new cooperation with Russia along their shared border.
"The number of blockade runners, smugglers and drug dealers has sharply dropped thanks to concerted action by law enforcement agencies of the two countries," one Chinese official told China's Xinhua news agency.
Fanfare will consume much of Yeltsin's visit to China. China's state performing arts groups and media have made much to-do about his visit.
On the eve of Yeltsin's arrival, the China Broadcasting Chorus Troupe gave a concert of Russian folk songs as a "friendly gesture," the Xinhua news agency reported.
Yeltsin's pomp duties include the opening of an exhibition of czarist treasures. He'll also confer friendship awards on several Chinese artists and academics.
Correspondent Rebecca MacKinnon, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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