China, Russia Stress Global Stability, Regional Security

China and Russia vowed to make joint efforts to strengthen global strategic stability and regional security in a joint communique released Moscow Wednesday.

"In the current situation, maintaining global strategic stability is of special significance to keeping world peace," said the communique, published after a meeting between acting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan in the Kremlin.

Regarding the ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) treaty reached in 1972 as the basis of strategic stability, the two countries highly valued their joint efforts at the United Nations and other international organizations to achieve comprehensive and strict implementation of the convention.

They reaffirmed that the two nations share common viewpoints on guaranteeing security and stability in their peripheral regions, such as Asia-Pacific, Central Asia and South Asia, expressing common desire to accelerate the cooperation by all means in the framework of the "Shanghai Five."

Both China and Russia support the active efforts by Asia-Pacific international organizations and some Asian countries to preserve regional security and create non-nuclear weapon zones, said the communique.

It said the two countries will make full preparation for the next regular meeting of the premiers in order to achieve more practical results as both agreed that high-level exchanges have an irreplaceable role in pushing forward bilateral strategic partnership.

The strategic partnership between China and Russia, not directed against any third country, conforms to the fundamental interests of the two countries and also helps boost the progress of a multi-polar world as well as the establishment of a just and reasonable new world order, said the communique.

It stressed that any attempt or practice to destroy the territorial integrity of a sovereign state is unacceptable.

Praising China for its resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hongkong and Macao, Russia reiterated its stance on Taiwan issue, which is expounded in all previously reached bilateral documents. It said Russia supported China's efforts in peaceful national reunification.

Meanwhile, China expressed support for Russia's anti-terrorist operations in Chechnya, the communique said.

Tang ended his first official visit to Russia on Wednesday, during which he met Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Tuesday.

During his three-day trip, Tang also signed an agreement with the Russian side on the exchange of visits by the two countries' citizens and an accord on the exemption of visas for tourists from both countries.

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