The Chinese foreign policy priorities in Kyrgyzstan — страница 3

and commitment of the Kyrgyz leadership to the previously signed bilateral treaties and agreements, especially of political nature and those resolving the border issue; the U.S. military presence in Kyrgyzstan; The above issues to varying degrees were included in the agenda for the talks between the President Kurmanbek Bakiev and the top political leadership of China and were reflected in the joint Declaration after the visit signed by the heads of the two countries. Confirmation of continuity and firm commitment from the new Kyrgyz leadership to the earlier signed agreements (political in nature and those resolving the border issue), were the main concerns to the content of Kurmanbek Bakiev's visit in China. There had been concerns that the lack of a clear position of the new

Kyrgyz leader on those issues during the negotiations could make Beijing doubt about the stable position of Kyrgyzstan and its sincere interest in maintaining and developing friendly relations with China; which could have frozen the good relations between the countries. The official statement made by the new President of the Kyrgyz Republic on its firm commitment to the previous agreements and the agreements reached during his first visit to China, despite the existence of serious domestic political opponents, was seen by experts from both countries as a significant step on the part of Bishkek to restore mutual political trust and confidence in full. In a joint Declaration the parties confirmed their adherence to the principles, declared in the political documents signed and

published during the period of 14 years; expressed their satisfaction with the progress achieved since the establishment of diplomatic relations in political, economic, humanitarian and security fields; and agreed that the Kyrgyz-Chinese friendship meets the fundamental interests of the peoples of the two countries and also contributes to the development and peace in the region. The parties committed themselves to strictly abide by all the agreements and documents on border issues between the two states and make active efforts to turn the state border between the two countries into a zone of perpetual peace and friendship, maintained from generation to generation. Officially, Bishkek reaffirmed its commitment to the one-China policy. It confirmed that it opposes any form of

"Taiwan independence," including "legalization of Taiwan independence," and it is against the attempts to create "two Chinas," "one China, one Taiwan." Furthermore, it is against Taiwan's participation in any international organization, to which only sovereign states can be parties. The Kyrgyz side stated that it would not establish any official relations with Taiwan and would not maintain official contacts with it. For its part, Beijing confirmed its support for the efforts made by the Kyrgyz Republic to ensure its independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity, strengthen internal stability and develop national economy; Beijing also praised the contribution of Kyrgyzstan to stability, security and cooperation in Central

Asia. As for the issue of combating terrorism, extremism and separatism, the heads of the two states confirmed that they would strengthen coordination and cooperation between the law enforcement agencies and security bodies of both countries. As well, both promised to continue within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to take effective measures to jointly combat all forms of terrorism, including the terrorist forces of "East Turkistan," in order to ensure peace and stability in the two countries and in the region. The heads of the two countries stressed that the fight against terrorist forces of "East Turkistan" is an important part of the international anti-terrorist struggle. Kyrgyzstan and China will maintain and develop the contacts and

cooperation between military agencies of the two countries. The issue of the American military presence in Kyrgyzstan was also one of the most important moments in the political agenda of Kurmanbek Bakiev's visit in China. China has repeatedly stated that it understands and shares the position of Kyrgyzstan, which provided a ground Air Force base for the Anti-terrorist coalition to combat terrorist forces in Afghanistan. The previous leadership of KR had coordinated this decision with its partners in the CSTO and SCO. However, China firmly and strongly supports the idea of determining time constraints for operation of the airbase in "Manas" and opposes the expansion of its mandate beyond the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan. Apparently, during the talks, the