The leaders of six nations led by China and Russia signed an agreement yesterday that they cast as a step toward building a new economic and security bloc in central Asia.
But even as the six praised the agreement following two days of talks in Shanghai, questions remained about their ability to form an effective counterweight to US and European influence in the region.
Yesterday's agreement called for more open trade and investment and stronger security ties between the six as part of membership in a new regional group, to be called the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The new group will replace the Shanghai Five, a loosely knit forum created in 1996 to resolve border disputes and fight rising Islamic militancy. On Thursday, the leaders announced that Uzbekistan had joined as a sixth member.
The group also includes the central Asian republics of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Joint efforts against separatist groups remained at the center of yesterday's agreement. Central Asian governments, including China, are grappling with religious rebel groups, many receiving arms and training from the Taliban, Afghanistan's extremist Islamic rulers.
"The cradle of terrorism, separatism and extremism is the instability in Afghanistan," President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan warned in a speech during the signing ceremony.
Among the steps discussed during closed-door talks was an offer by China to give military aid to Kyrgyzstan if uprisings in other countries spill across its borders, the Itar-Tass news agency said.
In a joint statement yesterday, the six leaders also said they talked about operation of an anti-terrorism center set up last year.
Beijing and Moscow view the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a way to offset growing US and European investment in the region. Russia in particular hopes to regain more influence over central Asian republics that became independent with the 1991 Soviet collapse.
Russia and China are also united in unease over what they see as the US' dominance of world affairs and Washington's plans to build a missile defense shield.
After signing the joint agreement yesterday, Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
The new group "will provide necessary conditions for the establishment of a fair and reasonable international order," said Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev.
In his statement after the signing, Russian President Vladimir Putin called stronger economic ties a key aim of the new group. "Cooperation in economics, trade and culture is far more important than military cooperation," he said.
Many of the six called for joint efforts to exploit the region's large reserves of oil, natural gas and minerals. China is keen to gain access to new energy sources for its expanding economy.
But pushing economic ties also drew attention to the tenuous links binding many of the members, particularly the two largest, China and Russia.
Trade between the two totals about US$8 billion a year, less than a tenth of China's trade with the US. China depends on exports for its higher incomes and living standards.
Russia is also closely bound to the West, especially Germany, for the investment it needs to revive its faltering economy.
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