#12 - JRL 6600
South China Morning Post
December 12, 2002
Russian envoy confident of settling border dispute
A successful Jiang-Putin summit clears the way for a swift end to negotiations
Mark O'Neill in Beijing

Russia's ambassador to China yesterday predicted a swift settlement to the last border dispute between the two countries and said relations had never been better.

Igor Rogachev, 70 - who has been involved in Sino-Russian affairs since working as a translator in 1955 - gave an upbeat assessment of bilateral relations after last week's visit to Beijing by President Vladimir Putin.

"We have a border more than 4,200 kilometres long. The last areas in dispute involve 200 to 300 square kilometres," he said. "Our two presidents ordered their foreign ministries to finish negotiations as soon as possible. I am sure we can settle very soon." The three disputed areas are two islands close to Khabarovsk, on the border with Heilongjiang, and Bolshoi island in the Argun river. All three are claimed by China but are under Russian control.

Mr Rogachev said that last week's summit between Mr Putin and Mr Jiang, in addition to a treaty of friendship signed by the two men in Moscow in July last year, had elevated relations and created favourable conditions to settle the border issue.

The two leaders reached agreement on a range of issues, including a determination to fight terrorism in all its forms.

"Terrorists in Chechnya and East Turkestan are inseparable parts of the same international terrorism," he said.

Russian arms sales were an important part of the relationship, with the PLA eager to upgrade their weapons and equipment, and the two countries also enjoyed close co-operation in developing China's space programme, Mr Rogachev added.

"Several years ago, we trained Chinese astronauts in Moscow but now they rely on their own efforts. Within one or two years, China will be able to put its own astronaut in space."

He said about 300,000 Chinese lived in Russia and that more Russians were coming to China, as students, merchants and workers, than the other way round.

Speaking of the 16th Communist Party Congress last month, Mr Rogachev said the replacement of Mr Jiang, 76, by Hu Jintao, 59, showed the party was eager to learn from the lessons of the Soviet Communist Party.

"The new domestic and external policies will be the same, with the major tasks until 2020 being modernisation, reunification with Taiwan and international peace. Adjustments are possible but there will be no major change."

China's domestic market would not be large enough to achieve its target of quadrupling 2000 GDP by 2020, so China will be active in promoting its exports, he said.

He described Mr Hu as "quiet" and "very knowledgeable" from the several meetings he has had with him. "He made a good impression on those who met him. There is no problem on foreign policy. He knows everything. The recommendation of Deng Xiaoping helps him."