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China, Russia sign pact
Oppose any single world power
April 23, 1997
Web posted at: 11:14 a.m. EDT (1514 GMT)MOSCOW (CNN) -- The leaders of Russia and China signed a joint declaration Wednesday pledging to seek a "multipolar" world with no one country dominating the international order.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the declaration in Moscow on the second day of Jiang's five-day state visit.
"Some are pushing toward a world with one center," said Yeltsin, apparently referring to the United States, after the signing. "We want the world to be multipolar, to have several focal points. These will for the basis for a new world order."
Russian and Chinese officials were quick to say the declaration was not aimed at a specific country, however.
"The very suggestion of plans to create some counter-blocs are wrong and counter-productive," Yeltsin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky told the Interfax news agency.
China's official news agency, Xinhua, quoted the declaration as saying that "no country should seek hegemony, practice power politics or monopolize international affairs."
The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Yeltsin as saying the declaration signaled a "breakthrough in Russian policy in Asia."
After decades of hostility between the two countries, Wednesday declaration underscored the warming of relations, although it was still far from a formal alliance.
The Russian president said he and Jiang had "discussed more than 20 issues" and solved a number of problems.
Jiang speaks to parliament
Jiang spoke to the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, on Wednesday, and met its chairman Gennady Seleznyov .
In his speech, Jiang said no nation should impose its social order or ideology upon others. Russia and China do not strive to form an alliance, and their rapprochement is not threatening others, he said.
"The time when a few large countries or groups of large countries could monopolize international affairs and determine the fate of other nations is gone forever," Jiang said.
Jiang was also scheduled to meet Yegor Stroyev, leader of the upper house, later in e day.
On Thursday, Jiang meets Yeltsin and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin for more talks.
Jiang, Yeltsin and the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will on Thursday sign a treaty on reducing armed forces along the former Soviet-Chinese border.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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- Russian Political Resources - East Stroudsburg University
- Internet Resources for the Study of China - Boise State University
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