President George W. Bush called Chinese President Jiang Zemin on
Thursday about his decision for the United States to withdraw from
the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the White House said.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the talks with Jiang were
part of foreign consultations on the decision, including talks this
week with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac and Japanese
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
China, which has a relatively small nuclear arsenal, has opposed US
withdrawal from the treaty, which bars Washington from developing a
missile defence system that Bush believes is vital to US national
security.
"The president this morning called President Jiang of China,"
Fleischer told reporters. "President Jiang said to the president he
looked forward to further high-level dialogue about this
topic."
The spokesman said some of the leaders that Bush spoke to
appreciated his consulting them and acknowledged that he had said
he would eventually move beyond the treaty. Fleischer declined to
further discuss the reactions of Jiang or other leaders that Bush
spoke to, saying their responses varied.
(China Daily December 14, 2001)