But whatever its qualms about a response to Tuesday's terror attacks on the United States, Beijing would not use its veto in the UN Security Council on the matter, analysts were quoted by AFP as saying.

"China usually relies on the United Nations and anything decided outside the United Nations may be opposed or criticized by China," said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, director of the Hong Kong-based French Center for Research on Contemporary China.

"There will be some sort of cooperation (between China and the United States) and we will see very quickly the limitations of this cooperation ... but on the whole China won't veto anything and will try not to become too involved," he said.

However, Cabestan cautioned that without a clear idea of exactly what the US had planned, it was very difficult to predict China's reaction.

"The danger for China is that the US becomes more involved in South Asia and there will be more US troops closer to its borders," he told AFP.

China bristled at the lack of UN approval for NATO's intervention into Yugoslavia in 1999, viewing it as intervention in another country's internal affairs and a possible precedent for Western action in Tibet or Xinjiang, where separatism abounds, or over Taiwan.

But according to Joseph Cheng, a leading China scholar at the City University of Hong Kong, US intervention in Afghanistan would be a far cry from Yugoslavia, especially as China had already condemned the terrorist attacks and pledged to cooperate with the US.

"China would like to involve the United Nations which it views as a very useful tool for urging restraint, but I don't think China will exercise its UN veto, although it may choose to abstain," Cheng said.

China would also be looking to the possible visit this week by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for consultations on a united front between the close allies, as well as seeking a first hand understanding on how Islamabad planned to cooperate with Washington, Cheng said.

"China certainly would first indicate support for Musharraf and also support Pakistani efforts seeking respect for its territorial integrity and Musharraf's decision on how to handle Osama bin Laden," he said.

Pakistan, a long-time traditional ally of China, has urged Afghanistan's Taliban regime to arrest Saudi dissident bin Laden and has pledged "full support" to a US-led campaign against international terrorism.

China's concern over the spread of Islamic extremism and terrorism in its remote western Xinjiang region and the level of Russian support and cooperation would also play a central role in how Beijing reacts, Cabestan said.

The fight against terrorism on its central Asian borders has been a main concern of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which groups China with Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazahkstan and Uzbekistan, since the group was established in 1996.

"China has been using the Shanghai group to fight terrorism, so this has opened the door to some kind of cooperation with the United States," he said.

However, Beijing's efforts to use the group to prevent the influx of Muslim refugees into China and to urge other member governments to prevent the growth of Xinjiang Uighur separatist groups outside of China, has so far "not been very effective", Cabestan said.

"The outside factor is Russia. If Russia decides to cooperate with the United States, this will put pressure on China. So the Russian factor is important as far as China is concerned," Cabestan said.