Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Russia and China Sign Trade Agreement

Aired July 16, 2001 - 10:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Beijing and Moscow earlier today signed their first treaty since the break-up of the Soviet Union. They're calling this one the Good Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and it's meant to boost economic and cultural trade between Russia and China.

Some observers say it also is a political poke at the U.S. missile defense initiative. The signing does follow the Pentagon's fourth test of its experimental interceptor missile. Over the weekend, the missile successfully struck down a dummy rocket that was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Our Steve Harrigan is joining us now from Moscow with more on the new Russian-Chinese treaty and its implications.

STEVE HARRIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, this is the first Russian-Chinese friendship treaty in 50 years. The last one was signed by Mao and Stalin. It didn't end well. It soured, eventually turning into pretty much of a border war in 1969.

This time both sides are saying the purpose of this treaty is to boost economic ties. Also, it's to defend their mutual interests. Both sides, both Moscow and Beijing making it clear that this is not a military alliance, also making it clear that it's not targeted at any one nation.

But as you say, it does come on the heels of a successful U.S. test of its national missile defense system and both China and Russia strongly oppose that system. It's laid out there in the friendship treaty that they oppose any changes to the 1972 ABM Treaty between Russia and the United States. That treaty, of course, limited any construction of national missile defense -- Daryn?

KAGAN: Steve, give us a little bit more background on these governments. These are two governments that have a history of distrust of each other, do they not?

HARRIGAN: They have. Throughout the cold war period of the '60s and '70s there were, there was distrust between the two nations and also some violent conflict along the border. That 4,000 kilometer border between Russia and China has really been a hot spot, still not resolved entirely. And that's going to be a source of continuing tension despite this friendship pact. On one side in Russia you have about four million people in the Russian Far East. On the other side just across the border of the Amur River in one province of China you have 140 million Chinese. So there's a real sense there out in the Russian Far East, a real fear of migration, of being swamped or taken over by Chinese immigration, whether legal or illegal.

So some still, some tension ahead for these two huge nations who are trying to put a very good face on things today and signing a 20 year friendship pact -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Steve Harrigan with the latest from Moscow, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com