ABSTRACT
In the usual leaden language of diplomatic communiqués, this one opens in expected form. ‘Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Russian President Boris Yeltsin held the second informal summit on 9 and 10 December 1999, during which they had an in-depth exchange of views on issues of common interest.’ But what were the issues of common interest on which in-depth exchanges of views were had? Three times in the communiqué the Chinese and Russian authorities poke at the raw nerve which evidently ran, exposed and twitching, through the meeting:
The two leaders maintained that all members of the international community should be treated equally, enjoy the same security, respect each other in their choice of development paths, respect each other’s sovereignty, not interfere in each other’s internal affairs . . . .
