President Jiang Zemin flew into Russian city St. Petersburg
Wednesday to attend the second summit of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, to be held Friday.
The organization, founded in 1996 as the Shanghai Five with the aim
of brokering border disputes, has expanded its membership and scope
to cover a wide range of regional and international problems.
With the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic and trade
ties, the organization groups China, Russia, and the Central Asian
republics of Kazakstan, Kyrghyzstan, Tajikistan, original members
of the Shanghai Five, as well as Uzbekstan, which joined the
organization last year in Shanghai.
"The founding of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization serves the practical needs of this
region and the interests of its member countries,'' Jiang said when
meeting Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Almaty Wednesday
before flying to Russia.
Jiang said the organization is destined to be a dynamic one as it
reflects the trend of historical development, according to a
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.
China and Kazakstan have similar stands and share many common
interests in maintaining security and promoting the development of
Central Asia, Jiang told his Kazakh counterpart, adding that the
founding of the organization was a major strategic decision made by
China and other member countries. Nazarbayev told Jiang that
Kazakstan is willing to work with other members of the organization
to make the summit a successful one.
The meeting of state coordinators of the organization concluded in
the Kazakh city of Almaty on Monday. The coordinators finalized
agreements to be signed by the heads of state of the six
nations.
Noting that Central Asia has witnessed some changes since the
September 11 terrorist attacks, the Chinese president said
countries in this region should manage Central Asian affairs by
themselves.
Jiang also congratulated Nazarbayev on the success of the first
summit of the Conference
on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA)
which concluded in Almaty on Monday.
China, as a CICA member and a friendly neighbor of Kazakstan, has
been an active participant in the CICA process from the beginning
and has made constructive contributions to its progress, Jiang
said, pledging continuing contributions to pushing forward the CICA
process.
Nazarbayev appreciated Jiang's attendance at the CICA summit and
said the fact that parties with conflicts, such as India and
Pakistan and Israel and Palestine, sit together at the conference
is meaningful, even though the conference did not discuss their
specific problems.
Turning to Sino-Kazakh
relations, Jiang said Kazakstan is the first nation of the former
Soviet Union that has settled border issues with China that are
products of history.
The two nations signed an agreement on delimitation last month,
marking a successful settlement of Sino-Kazakh border issues.
Jiang's views were echoed by Nazarbayev who said the delimitation
of the border between Kazakstan and China has strengthened mutual
trust between the two countries.
Nazarbayev stressed that Kazakstan has always supported the Chinese
Government in its stand on the Taiwan question, opposes any form of
separatism and is willing to cooperate with China in this
matter.
Jiang also met Hamid Karzai, chairman of the Afghanistan interim
government Wednesday before leaving Almaty.
Jiang said that China is ready to develop the traditional friendly
and cooperative relationship with Afghanistan on the basis of
equality and mutual benefit.
Karzai said the Afghan people appreciate the support and assistance
that China has rendered them and that Afghanistan welcomes Chinese
enterprises to invest in the country to expand bilateral trade
cooperation, now that his interim government has passed a law on
foreign investment.
Karzai briefed Jiang on the Afghanistan political situation and the
progress in preparations for the Grand Council of Afghanistan,
which is set to convene on June 10.
Jiang said China hopes the meeting will come up with an interim
government which has a broad base and represents the interests of
all parties in Afghanistan on a foundation of full
consultation.
(China
Daily June 6, 2002)