KARUNA SHINSHO, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead of the schedule meeting with the U.S., President Vladimir Putin sending a signal to Washington, signing a treaty with visiting Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Moscow, the first such treaty is of the two nations since Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin put pen to paper in 1950. Steve Harrigan has more from Moscow.</s>STEVE HARRIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're calling it a friendship treaty, and as you, the last one signed 50 years ago, then was signed by Mao and Joseph Stalin. This one today was signed by Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both leaders say it's intended to do two things. One: to boost economic ties between China and Russia, and two, to help defend their mutual interest. Both sides have also taken pains to point out that this is not a military alliance between Russia and China, nor, they say, is this friendship treaty directed at any other nation. However, it's been clear over the past few years, there's been many disgruntled people both in Moscow and in Beijing, disgruntled about what they perceive as a growing dominance in international affairs by the United States. Perhaps this treaty one step in an effort to pose a counterweight to that dominance. One issue that does unite the two sides. That is opposition to U.S. plans to build a national missile defense system. Both Russia and China making that opposition clear, saying that they believe the 1972 ABM Treaty between Russia and the U.S. is a cornerstone of international security. Any attempts to scuttle that treaty by the U.S. would upset the international balance.
Russia Signs First Treaty with China in Half a Century