CHINESE PRIME MINISTER LI PENG’S recent visit to Moscow displayed the growing warmth of Russian-Chinese official relations. His welcome in Russia was in sharp contrast with the reception he has received in various Western countries recently. Any visit to the West now attracts public protests over the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square, and Western political leaders feel obliged to raise the issue of human rights. Even in Germany, China’s closest friend in Europe, Li cut short his official visit last year because of continued reminders of human rights abuses. Moscow, however, gave him a respectful welcome.
