BEIJING has laid down four basic principles for maintaining ties with Eastern Europe in a move seen by diplomats as an important strategy for boosting China's influence in the former Eastern bloc.
The four principles were announced by premier Li Peng on the last day of his visit to Romania.
The quasi-official China News Service (CNS) said last night this was the first time that a Chinese leader had laid out a ''comprehensive policy'' towards Eastern Europe since major changes in the Eastern bloc in the late 1980s.
The main points of the principles are: Respect for the choice of the people in these countries and non-interference in their internal affairs; Developing traditional friendship and pursuing peaceful co-existence; Promoting mutually-beneficial co-operation and seeking common development and prosperity; and Supporting peaceful settlement of conflicts and promoting regional stability.
Western diplomats in Beijing said that on the surface these principles were similar to the famous Five Principles on Peaceful Coexistence, which have underpinned Chinese foreign policy since the 1950s.
However, they said Mr Li's Four Principles represented the politburo's new thinking on global strategy.
The diplomats said Beijing was much more confident about its ability to cement ties with Eastern Europe because a few countries in the region, including Romania, had re-embraced elements of the former communist administrations.