Chinese President Jiang Zemin and  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a good- neighborly treaty of friendship and cooperation.
  The treaty will function as a legal document guiding the steady development of Sino-Russian relations in the new century and will  have a deep and far-reaching impact on the long-term steady  development of the bilateral ties.
  The following are details of the treaty:
  China and Russia will develop the strategic cooperative  partnership based on good-neighborliness, friendship, cooperation  and peace, in accordance with the principles of mutual respect of  each other's territorial integrity, non-aggression, non- interference in each other's internal affairs, mutual benefit and  peaceful co-existence.
  Disputes between the two countries will be settled in line with stipulations in the U.N. Charter and other international  principles by peaceful means. The two parties reaffirm that  neither side will be the first to use nuclear weapons against the  other and nor will it aim its strategic nuclear weapons at the  other.
  The two parties respect the path of political, economic, social and cultural development of the other, to ensure the long-term  steady development of bilateral relations. The two sides support  each other's policy to maintain national unity and territorial  integrity.
  Russia declares that there is only one China in the world, that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government to represent the whole China and that Taiwan is an  inalienable part of China. Russia is opposed to any form of  independence of Taiwan.
  The two sides are determined to build the boundary between the  two countries into one of permanent peace and lasting friendship.  The two parties will adhere to international principles concerned  and strictly observe the boundary between the two countries.
  In accordance with existing agreements, the two countries will  build up confidence  in the military field and mutually reduce  troops in the border areas. They will take more confidence- building measures in the military area to enhance their respective security and consolidate regional and international stability.  Military cooperation between the two countries is not targeted at  any third party.
  Neither party will join any alliance or group that harms the  other's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. Neither  of them will conclude such treaties with any third party, or allow a third country to use its territory to harm the other's  sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.
  The two parties will have immediate contact and consultations,  should any of the two parties perceives circumstances that may  threaten and undermine peace or its security interests.
  The two parties to the treaty will utilize and perfect the  mechanisms of regular meetings of officials at different levels,  to exchange opinions and coordinate positions on bilateral issues, issues of mutual concern and on important and pressing  international issues, so as to strengthen the strategic  cooperative partnership based on equality and trust.
  The two sides will strictly adhere to the established  principles and norms of international law and will oppose the  interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country by  force or under various excuses. They are willing to make great  efforts to reinforce international peace, stability, development  and cooperation.
  The two parties are opposed to any acts that may threaten  international stability, security and peace, and will coordinate  and cooperate in preventing international conflicts and finding  political solutions to such conflicts.
  The two parties are jointly committed to maintaining global  strategic balance and stability, and will endeavor to promote the  adherence of fundamental agreements concerning the safeguarding  and maintenance of strategic stability. The two sides will  push  forward the process of nuclear disarmament and the reduction of  chemical weapons, and will take measures to prevent the  proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, means of delivery  and related technologies.
  The two parties will strengthen coordination in the United  Nations, the U.N. Security Council and its special organizations.  Both sides will strive to enhance the key role of the United  Nations as the most authoritative and most universal international body of sovereign states, in handling international affairs,  particularly in the fields of peace and development.
  The two parties will vigorously promote and strengthen the  stability in the neighboring areas of the two countries, create an atmosphere of mutual understanding, trust and cooperation, and  push forward efforts that aim to set up a multilateral security  and cooperation mechanism in the said areas in line with their  actual situations.
  The two parties will deal with their debts and rights of credit in accordance with relevant agreements and other documents signed  between the governments of the two countries.
  The two sides will conduct cooperation, on the basis of mutual  benefit, in the fields of economy and trade, military technology,  science and technology, energy, transport, nuclear energy, finance, aeronautics and space, information technology and other fields of  mutual interests, and facilitate economic and trade cooperation in the border areas and between the localities of the two countries.
  The two sides will greatly boost exchanges and cooperation in  culture, education, health, information, tourism, sports and law,  and will protect intellectual property rights, in accordance with  their respective domestic laws and international treaties they  have joined.
  The two sides will cooperate in international financial  institutions, economic organizations and forums, and in accordance with stipulations of such bodies, to facilitate the accession of  one party to such bodies in which the other has already been a  member.
  The two parties will cooperate in promoting the realization of  human rights and basic freedoms. They will take effective measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the legal  persons and natural persons of one country in the territory of the other, in accordance with their respective international  obligations and domestic laws.
  The relevant departments of the two parties will investigate  and settle problems and disputes arising from cooperation and  business operations of legal persons and natural persons of one  country in the territory of the other, in accordance with relevant laws.
  The two parties will cooperate in protecting environment,  preventing cross-border pollution, and in utilizing waters in the  border areas and the biological resources in the northern Pacific  Ocean and cross-border rivers. The two sides will make joint  efforts to protect the rare species of plants and animals and the  ecosystems in the border areas.
  The two parties will, in accordance with their domestic laws  and respective international obligations, conduct active  cooperation in fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism, in  combating organized crime and illegal trafficking of drugs and  weapons. They will also cooperate in fighting illegal immigration.
  Both parties attach importance to the exchange and cooperation  between the central (federal) legislatures and the law-enforcing  agencies of the two countries. They will energetically promote the exchange and cooperation between the two countries' judicial  organizations.
  The present treaty will not affect the rights and obligations  of either party as a member of other international treaties, nor  is it targeted at any third country.
  The treaty needs to be ratified by parliaments of the two  countries and shall come into force on the date of exchange of  instruments of ratification.
  The treaty has a validity period of 20 years, and will be  automatically extended if neither party notifies the other its  intention to terminate the treaty one year before its expiration.