Russia and China the new superpowers?

[zefs]

Russia and China join to condemn U.S. missile shield
By Edward Wong and Alan Cowell Published: May 24, 2008


BEIJING: President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia and President Hu Jintao of China met Friday to conclude a deal on nuclear cooperation and together condemn U.S. proposals for a missile shield in Europe. Both countries called the U.S. plan a setback to international trust that was likely to upset the balance of power.

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 Putin, during his eight years in office.

Medvedev was inaugurated as Russia's president this month, but 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.

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 earthquake May 12 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 U.S. plans for a missile shield. Russia in particular has sought allies to act as a bulwark against U.S. efforts at global hegemony.

In a statement signed by Medvedev and 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 Johndroe, noted that on Thursday, Medvedev made remarks indicating that he remained open to negotiations. A new round of talks involving U.S. 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," 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 the United States' 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 George W. Bush called 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 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 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 Friday that trade between the countries rose to $48.17 billion last year from $10.67 billion in 2000.

Alan Cowell reported from Paris. Clifford J. Levy contributed reporting from Moscow, and Steven Lee Myers from Washington.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/24/asia/shield.php

[Draco]

There are no "superpowers" any more, now we only have "great powers". China and Russia were not "promoted", the USA was "demoted". The days are gone when the USA reigned supreme (the 1990s), now we have to watch them pussyfoot around China and Russia.

With the development of the SCO (which some have seen as a proposed counterweight to NATO), the USA are starting to panic. It was only the other day that the John McCain team were proposing a worldwide "alliance of democratic nations".

For us, the best thing to do would be to stay out the way (can't we join the Swiss Confederation??). With aggressive neighbours like Albania, FYROM and Turkey, this is out of the question, so I guess we'll have to go with the next best thing and try to make up with the Americans.