Russia and China Attack U.S. Missile Shield Plan
By EDWARD WONG and ALAN COWELL
BEIJING — President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia and President Hu Jintao of China met on Friday to conclude a deal on nuclear cooperation and together condemn American proposals for a missile shield in Europe. Both countries called the plan a setback to international trust that was likely to upset the balance of power.
Mr. Medvedev’s choice of China for an early diplomatic foray as president seemed to signal a desire to continue Moscow’s assertive foreign policy — particularly toward the United States — that was a hallmark of his predecessor, Vladimir V. Putin, during his eight years in office.
Mr. Medvedev was inaugurated as Russia’s president this month, but Mr. Putin retained significant powers as prime minister.
The announcements came as the neighbors, who challenged the United States — and each other — during the cold war, grapple with newer tensions over an array of military and economic issues, including their rivalry over the energy resources of Central Asia.
Mr. Medvedev arrived in China after a visit to Kazakhstan, which is seen as an important part of Moscow’s regional energy ambitions.
His visit here is the first by a state leader since the May 12 earthquake that has resulted in the deaths of nearly 56,000 people in southwest China, the nation’s greatest natural disaster in more than three decades. Russia is among the handful of countries to have sent both aid supplies and rescue teams.
In recent months, both countries have condemned America’s plan for a missile shield. Russia in particular has long sought allies to act as a bulwark against what Moscow depicts as American global hegemony.
In a statement signed by Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Hu, the leaders took issue once more with plans for a missile defense system “in certain regions of the world,” saying such measures “do not support strategic balance and stability, and harm international efforts to control arms and the nonproliferation process.”
“It harms the strengthening of trust between states and regional stability,” the statement said.
The White House’s reaction to the statement was muted. A spokesman for the National Security Council, Gordon D. Johndroe, noted that on Thursday Mr. Medvedev made remarks indicating that he remained open to negotiations. A new round of talks involving American and Russian technical experts is expected to begin next month.
“We’re having discussions with the Russians in good faith about the sites in the Czech Republic and Poland,” Mr. Johndroe said. “So we’ll see.”
The Russian-Chinese statement did not specifically identify the United States, which has angered Russia with plans to deploy elements of a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Washington says the shield is to protect against potential attacks by rogue states like Iran and North Korea.
For their part, Moscow and Beijing have not always supported Washington’s efforts to characterize Iran as a sponsor of terrorism and a potential nuclear threat, particularly to Israel. Iran says its nuclear development program is for peaceful, civilian purposes.
The joint statement also took issue with America’s attitude toward the promotion of human rights, insisting that “every state has a right to encourage and protect them based on its own specific features and characters.”
The statement reflected an argument among Washington’s critics that the United States uses the human rights issue as a means of exerting pressure. It said governments should “oppose politicizing the issue and using double standards” and should not use “human rights to interfere with other countries’ affairs.”
In late March, as China was coming under growing international criticism for a harsh crackdown on pro-Tibetan protests, President Bush called Mr. Hu to urge restraint and to advise the Chinese government to meet with the Dalai Lama’s representatives, according to the White House. He also asked Mr. Hu to allow diplomats and foreign journalists into Tibetan areas.
As a signal of the warming ties between China and Russia, the two countries signed a $1 billion agreement for Russia to build a nuclear fuel enrichment plant in China and supply uranium. Sergei V. Kiriyenko, the director of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, described the deal as “a good addition to our presence in China.”
Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, reported on Friday that trade between the countries rose to $48.17 billion last year from $10.67 billion in 2000.
Edward Wong reported from Beijing, and Alan Cowell from Paris. Clifford J. Levy contributed reporting from Moscow, and Steven Lee Myers from Washington.
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