China, Russia and three Central Asian nations pledged Thursday to reduce their troops along a 4,000-mile stretch of border, building a new peace in the East to counter NATO expansion in the West.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin said the accord - the result of seven years of negotiations - was a step toward a “security model that differs from the Cold War mentality.”

The agreement reflects steadily improving relations between Russia and China, communist rivals for three decades after relations soured in the late 1950s. It also demonstrates strengthening solidarity against growing Western influence - in particular, NATO’s movement into Eastern Europe.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who repeatedly has said NATO expansion on Russia’s western flank would lead him to look east, called the border agreement “a breakthrough for the Asian-Pacific region.”

It sets ceilings on the number of troops and the amount of military equipment the countries can have within a 62-mile zone on both sides of the border.

Kazakstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan also signed the accord.

China borders all four former Soviet republics. The border was heavily guarded during the Soviet era, and clashes occasionally broke out.

Russia and China are less worried about each other’s intentions these days, with both countries spending less on their militaries and redirecting their attention toward economic development and trade.

Yeltsin and Jiang pledged Wednesday to work toward a “multipolar” world - a clear reference to reducing the global clout of the United States. But at a news conference Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen insisted the two countries are not trying to ally against the United States or NATO.