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Politics : The Donkey's Inn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mephisto who wrote (1550)	12/17/2001 8:43:36 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 15516

China Urges Stability as U.S. Missile Pact Talks End " China says U.S. plans to develop a multi-billion dollar defense system that would shoot down incoming missiles not only threaten the global balance but could set off a new arms race." Monday December 17 2:53 PM ET BEIJING (Reuters) - China Monday urged the United States to safeguard global stability, after talks with U.S. diplomats and Russia on President Bush decision to abandon the Soviet-era Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty. Chinese officials ``stressed the importance of safeguarding international military control and the disarmament system and the stability of global strategy in the current circumstances,'' the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. ``We hope that the United States will earnestly take into account the opinion of the majority of the world's nations,'' it said. Russia's Foreign Ministry said talks on strategic stability -- certain to include missile defense and strategic nuclear arsenals -- were under way between senior Russian and Chinese diplomats in Moscow. China and Russia, long opposed to Bush's plan to build a national missile defense system, have shown muted responses to Bush's decision last week to pull out of the 1972 ABM Treaty. The Russian statement said Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov was meeting Chinese counterpart Wang Guangya. It offered no details. Diplomatic sources said the meeting was a regular consultation planned before the U.S. announcement last week. MORE TALKS The Chinese ministry said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control Avis Bohlen had explained Bush's decision to pull out of the 1972 ABM Treaty, which Beijing regarded as a cornerstone of global stability. China says U.S. plans to develop a multi-billion dollar defense system that would shoot down incoming missiles not only threaten the global balance but could set off a new arms race. The two sides had agreed to continue a dialogue on the question of strategic stability, the Chinese statement said. Beijing fears a missile defense system would neuter its small nuclear forces -- about two dozen missiles capable of reaching the United States -- and a successful missile umbrella could be stretched to protect arch-rival Taiwan. Washington, however, has told China repeatedly it is developing the missile shield to counter surprise attacks from ''rogue states'' like North Korea and Iraq and that it was not being pursued with China in mind. It was unclear if the U.S. diplomats, who arrived in Beijing over the weekend and were due to leave Monday, would make other stops before returning to the United States. The U.S. embassy in Beijing said any American comment on the talks would come from Washington. Bush called Chinese President Jiang Zemin (news - web sites) last Thursday to discuss the decision to withdraw from the treaty, which Bush considers a Cold War relic. Chinese state media said Jiang told Bush that China was willing to work with other countries to safeguard world peace and stability and advocated talks. Political analysts said China's muted response showed Beijing had decided there was nothing it could do and was intent on maintaining good relations with the United States, its second largest trading partner. dailynews.yahoo.com