CHINA’S
POLICY TOWARDS CENTRAL ASIA
Muddassir Ali Khan
M.A International Relations
Abstract
The emergence of five central Asian states
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as a result of the disintegration of
Soviet Empire. These states are full
of natural resources like gas and oil so, for enjoying its abilities they make
it “open door policy” and try to cash their abilities for its internal
development, strong economy and better foreign relations. In this regards her neighboring
country china also there. To fulfill the huge needs of energy, to contain U.S.
influence in this region, counter terrorism, and make this region as strong
economic market, china’s make better policies to achieve these goals and try to
enhance better relations with these Central Asian States.
Introduction
The
disintegration of Former Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991 and the five
independent central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan opened up phenomenal opportunities for china to
exercise and influence in the central Asian region. These states attracted the
world, primarily for its vast energy resources and other raw materials.
The
geo-economic and geo-strategic importance of Central Asian States have attract
the China to make polices regarding to enhancing its economic, strong its
security to fulfill the Chinese principles of foreign policy “independence”.
China, like other states bordering the central Asian region in which Russia,
Iran, and Afghanistan, also faced a changed geopolitical situation on its
borders. The Chinese Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous (XUAR) shares a long and common
border with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Central
Asia was the arena of the “Great Game” in which Russia and the British Empire
competed for strategic primacy. Today, the U.S., Russia and china are competing
for similar supremacy in the region. The U.S. involvement in the post 9/11
period is another significant factor in china’s policy towards central Asia.
China’s Interests in Central Asia
China’s growing
involvement in central Asia has attracted much international attention in
recent years. Fears have been expressed about the extent to which china has
made inroads into the region’s economic and political life, as well as the
motives behind this policy. China has
even been accused of viewing central Asia as its legitimate lebensraum.
Such
reasoning seems remote from reality: all the indications are that china’s
expansion into the markets and politics of central Asia is peaceful and has
clear limitations. It is evident that central Asia is a key concern of Chinese foreign
policy, following closely behind other fundamental issues such as Taiwan and
the “one-china” principle that the island should not be recognized as
politically independent of the mainland. The last decade has seen an expansion
of military co-operation between china and the neighboring central Asian states
especially as regards counter-terrorism and military confidence-building measures.
Economic
co-operation, integration, and infrastructure projects have also been priority
concerns of Beijing. Chinese investment in the economies of central Asia and
bilateral trade are growing rapidly, and china looks to central Asia to reduce
its energy deficit, diversify its energy imports and transits routs, and
increase its energy security. Yet there are limits to china’s influence and
control over economic and political developments in the region.
China’s Central Asia Policy
The world has
become global village in the real sense of the term. China and central Asian
republics are looking for new markets to sell their oil and gas and china needs
energy to keep pace with its economic growth. China and central Asian republics
are trying to resolve their borders issues, and they have succeeded in
achieving that goal. The central Asian republics lack capital to exploit their
oil and gas resources while china has huge invest able surplus capital.
The
geopolitical game in central Asia is two fold: first, control over production
of oil and gas, and second, control over the pipelines which will transfer oil
to the western markets. Energy resources are reshaping the geopolitical map in
this region.
Energy, Trade and infrastructure
China is fastest
growing economic country and being “ the world’s second-largest oil consumer
after the United States, as mentioned above, attaching high priority to
accessing oil and gas reserves in central Asian republics.
The
Chinese government wants to diversify energy imports and lower dependence on
west Asia (Middle East).” [1]
Because “the growing dependence on oil imports has created an increasing sense
of “energy insecurity” among Chinese leaders. Chinese military leaders argue
tat china’s energy problem needs to be taken “seriously and dealt with
strategically.” That would mean lesser reliance on Middle East oil. Avoidance
of sea lanes policed by the U.S. navy, building Chinese navy’s capability to
protect Chinese tankers and more oil from central Asia brought overland by
pipeline.
The
American build-up of its naval base at change in Singapore, allowing it to
patrol the straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, through which 80
percent of china’s imported oil moves, is regarded with particular suspicion.” [2]
The
quest for energy security is also transforming chin’s engagement in central
Asia. Another interest of china regarding central Asia is to contain U.S.
influence in the region. Thus, we see strong political and economic initiatives
from china in the central Asian region and fully support of central Asian
governments for its “Go West” policy. So, keeping her energy requirement in
view central Asia acquires special significance for china.
The
Caspian Sea region possesses huge oil and gas reserves. Major countries both
eyes on its reserves in Russia, India, U.S.A. and western European countries
also have. So, china make batter polices to achieve her energy requirement and
make friendly relations with these countries and start a agreement with these
and china invest his money in many sectors like gas-pipeline, oil industry, to
roads for trade and development of these region.
In his regards, “china have a good
relations with Kazakhstan to approach its oil, gas, iron, zinc, copper
resources, ore, titanium, aluminum, silver and gold is particularly important
for china. Some a15 major Chinese companies are active in Kazakhstan. These
companies extract about 80 million tons of Kazakh oil each year, of which an estimated
25 million tons is sent to china.” [3]
“China is also strengthening its
relations with Turkmenistan. In 2009, china gave Turkmenistan a $3 billion loan
to develop the south Yolotan gas deposit. In 2010 china approved an additional
$4 billion to complete the first stage of this project.” [4]
The bilateral relations between the
china and Kyrgyzstan have a strengthened in post-cold war era. China sees
Kyrgyzstan as strategic base for trade expansion across central Asia, and
Kyrgyzstan seeks to maximize its profits from re-exporting Chinese goods.
Recently china boosts energy ties
with central Asia when “the Chinese leader Hu Jintao opened the Kazakh section
of a new Central Asia-China gas pipeline. The new 1,833-kilometre Turkmenistan-china
pipeline enters china through the Kazakh boarder, the entire pipe line, running
from gas-rich Turkmenistan to china’s restive region of Xinjiang via Uzbekistan
and Kazakhstan. “It’s a huge project that will one day restore the ancient Silk
Road route,” the president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev told Hu in the Kazakh
capital Astana.” [5]
Finally, we see the impotence of
Uzbekistan is also rich in oil, gas and other natural resources. The Tajikistan
is rich in Hydro power and its borders tech with china. The Kyrgyzstan has
Geo-strategic importance Turkmenistan rich in hydrocarbons particularly Natural
gas and other central Asian republics are diversifying their export routes.
Security
The primary
factor driving Beijing’s engagement in central Asia is the need to; decrease
the economic marginalization of the latter’s ethnic Turkic Uyghur population,
and secure china’s western boarders against external support for the putative
Islamic fundamentalist and separatist movements in the province. Beijing has
made central Asia an integral part of it’s “develop the west” programmed, in
which major economic redistributions from urban eastern china to the Chinese
west, primarily Tibet and Xinjiang, have aimed to consolidate national unity
and decrease incentives for separatism.
The security situation in china’s
west has been a marker in Beijing’s political and military relations with
central Asia, and especially with the states that share a boarder with the
People’s Republic.
Another security issue is to contain
U.S. influence in this region, in his regards “china has major influence over
the politics and economics of these countries but it doesn’t advertise it,
unlike the others. It’s a quiet policy of working against U.S. and Russian
interests,” [6]
said by Dustov, an independent Tajik political analyst.
Implications for other actors
China has been highly
successful in expanding its influence in central Asia in recent years, largely
at the expense of Europe and the United States. This will give rise to new patterns
of engagement, new coalitions and economic interactions that will shape the
future of the Eurasian region.
Russia and china have joined hands
in attempting to minimize the U.S. and European presence in central Asia. The
US expulsion from Uzbekistan and the European neglect of the region have worked
in favor of china and Russia.
The
shanghai co-operation organist anion has functioned as a bulwark against
“external” influence in central asia, and even if it is not explicitly a body
directed against the united states or Europe, it has in effect been used as
such by Moscow and Beijing.
The marginalization of the United
States and Europe has strengthened the shanghai co-operation oranistanion as
regional body such of central Asian affairs is now dealt with through it or
bilaterally between its members. Looked at positively structure able to prevent
conflicts. On the negative side Chinese and Russian domination of the organization
will create an uneven regional power structure.
Summary
Independence is
the principle of china’s foreign policy it is the eve of “Mao Zedong” so, to pursuing an independent
policy, china’s determined to modernize their industry, agriculture, national
defense, and science and technology through several decades, as a result china
is fastest growing economy.
To
fulfill the huge needs for energy, china needs central Asian republics for its
future energy security, both sides are mutual interests china’s interests is to
accessing oil and gas reserves in central asia and to contain U.S. influence in
this region china seemed that U.S. military presence would not be short term,
and suspicious were raised that it had a hidden agenda of controlling the
energy resources of central asia.
Another
interest is Russia has regained some of its lost influence in central Asia. So,
china has up-graded its political ties with Kazakhstan to the level of
strategic partnership and through Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO).
Strong politico-economic initiatives have been taken by china. With to
contribute the interests of central Asian republics there interests are the
south Asia as a giant market for its huge oil and gas reserves. It is a fact
that china has major influence over the politics and economics of these
countries but it does not advertise it.
Finally,
Chinese investment projects in central Asia that is changing the geo-political
face of this strategic, recourses-rich region and it’s a quiet policy of
working against U.S. and Russia interests.
[1] Ramakant
Dwivedi, (2006). “China’s Central Asia Policy in Recent Times”. China and
Eurasia Forum Quarterly, Volume 4, No.4 (2006), p.147
[2] Zahid Anwar, (2011). “An assessment of china’s growing
relations with central Asian states and its implications for Pakistan”. IPRI
journal XI, no. 2(summer 2011), pp.67-68
[3] ibid. p.69
[4] ibid. pp.70-71
[5] China boosts
energy ties with Central Asia, “The News International”. Sunday, December 13,
2009
[6] China lays path to power in Central Asia, “The News
International”. Sunday, August 31, 2008