The agreement on missile export, however, covers only medium and long-range missiles, according to the joint statement finalised in private meetings between US President Bill Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin in the Great Hall of the People.

Clinton was, however, unable to extract from Jiang a pledge to stop selling missile knowhow to potentially volatile nations.

Instead, China agreed only to move towards imposing stiffer export controls on missile technology to third world nations with nuclear ambitions and to actively study with no specific time frame formally adopting arms control guidelines of the missile technology control regime.

Later, on the agreement to target nuclear weapons, Clinton said it was a ``counterweight'' to the recent Indian andPakistani nuclear tests.

The accord was aimed at eliminating the likelihood of a nuclear accident, a sign of mutual trust, and a ``helpful signal as a counterweight to the recent nuclear tests between India and Pakistan,'' he added.

In opening their joint appearance, Jiang announced the detargeting agreement and said China will not be the first to use nuclear weapons ``under any circumstances.'' Left unsaid was China's push for the United States to make the same promise.

The detargeting agreement was forged over weeks of pre-summit negotiations and formalised by Clinton and Jiang in their meeting.

China has 18 long-range missiles -- 13 of them currently aimed at US cities -- compared to the United States' 6,000 or so nuclear warheads.

The detargeting agreement follows one between the United States and Russia that was concluded in 1997. While Chinese missiles could easily be retargeted in the event of hostilities, the agreement would make less likely any sort of accidental launch toward the UnitedStates.

Beijing had wanted, as a condition of detargeting, a US promise never to be the first to launch nuclear weapons, a concession that administration officials said in advance that Clinton would not make. The Chinese leader also said the issue of Taiwan is an important and sensitive one and that the United States must stick to its policy of recognising only one legitimate Chinese government ``in the interest of a smooth growth'' in US-China relations.

Clinton reaffirmed the US ``One China'' policy which opposes independence for Taiwan, and he encouraged more direct talks between Taipei and Beijing. In another important regional issue Clinton said he and Jiang agreed to work to maintain stability on the Korean peninsula.

CLinton listed broad areas in which the US and China are working together, including the environment, health, judicial matters, efforts to maintaining stability in global currency markets, and technical cooperation in preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. ``We agreedwe need to work together to avoid destabilising world currencies,'' he said.