The eleventh of September 2001, however, was immediately seen as a catalyst for change by both sides.
The immediacy of the Chinese response, by which President Jiang telephoned his sympathy and support to President Bush that very day, was unprecedented.
Similarly, his willingness to give way on his right as host to turn over much of the agenda of the APEC meeting in Shanghai in October to meet Bush’s anti – terrorist purposes was also much appreciated by the American side.
The Chinese were seen as partners in the war against terrorism as they helped persuade the president of Pakistan to accede to the American demands for assistance in the war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
They also began to share intelligence. The Chinese found a wider audience beyond the members of the SCO for their claim that the opposition to their rule in Xinjiang was also terroristic and was linked with external terrorist groups.
The following year the State Department declared that the East Turkistan Islamic Movement was indeed a terrorist group.
The announcement coincided with the promulgation in Beijing of detailed laws prohibiting proliferation of WMD and related technology.
Both may be seen as signifying the closeness that had begun to develop between the two sides.