At the invitation of Kazakhstan President N. Nazarbayev, Chinese
President Hu Jintao will pay a visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan
early June, a notable event in the continued development of
Sino-Kazakhstan relations.
Friendly neighbors on the ancient Silk Road
Situated in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is bordered by China to the
east, Russia to the north, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan
to the south. Its territory is 2,724,900 square km with a
population of 18.42 million. The capital is Astana (since December
1997).
As
China's close neighbor to the west, the Kazakhstan region, in
ancient times, played an important role in the communication
between China and the West, having considerable impact on the
cultural exchanges between China and Central Asia, China and
Europe, even China and Arab regions.
After the diplomat, civil official and dynastic emissary Zhang Qian
committed his mission to Xi Yu, or the Western Regions (a term used
in the Han Dynasty for areas west of Yumenguan, including present
Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia), one Chinese emperor in the Han
Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) sent his daughter to marry a local king,
which promoted agriculture across the Central Plains in the Western
Regions as well as to Central Asia. In AD 751, the Arab army
defeated the Chinese army of the Tang Dynasty at the battle of the
River Talas, opening the door for Muslim culture to enter China. In
the Qing Dynasty, the Kazakhstan rulers sent their sons to Beijing
to study, which enabled the etiquette of the Qing Dynasty to be
popular in Kazakhstan. During the anti-Japanese war, the so-called
"red road" connecting Yanan, Lanzhou, Dihua (now Urumqi), Alma-Ata
(formal capital of Kazakhstan) and Moscow served as an important
bridge between the Chinese Communist Party and the anti-Nazi
battlefield.
During the 1990s, profound changes happening to the geo-political
system on the Eurasian continent allowed Kazakhstan to announce its
independence (December 1991). Respecting the choice of the
Kazakhstan people, China officially recognized Kazakhstan in
December 1991, and set up diplomatic relations in January 1992,
opening a new page in Sino-Kazakhstan relations.
Sharing a 1,533 km border, Kazakhstan is China's second biggest
neighbor. In April 1994, during Chinese Premier Li Peng's first
visit, the two countries signed a Boundary Agreement. In September
1997, Premier Li Peng and Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev signed a
Supplementary Boundary Agreement on his second visit there.
With these papers, the establishment of border policies between
China and Kazakhstan became clear. This enabled the 1533 km border
to reflect a peaceful, friendly and cooperative permanent
relationship between the two countries.
Just as Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev pointed out, the signing of
the Boundary Agreement was an important result of the development
of bilateral ties. "It is the first time in history that China and
Kazakhstan signed such a document. The border of China and
Kazakhstan is confirmed in international law, which is really a big
success," he said.
Based on the solving of the border issue, China and Kazakhstan,
together with the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the
Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, formed the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) mechanism.
Born as a border agreement among four former Soviet republics and
China, the SCO has accelerated its diplomatic agenda. In 1996 at
the Shanghai Summit and in1997 at the Moscow summit, the SCO worked
out on two treaties: the Agreement on Confidence Building in the
Military Field in Border Areas (signed in Shanghai), and the
Agreement on Mutual Reduction of Military Forces in the Border
Areas (signed in Moscow).
The treaties have since proved to be a guarantee of the advancement
of bilateral ties for the new century and also serve as a new model
for state-to-state relations, guided by the belief of, "security
from mutual trust and cooperation for mutual benefits".
The cooperative partners of common development
According to Kazakhstan's current development situation, the
leaders of Kazakhstan have made a strategy to "enrich the country
through resources" that is to give priority to the development of
its energy industry. Statistics show that Kazakhstan has 2.2
billion tons of oil reserves in land, and 12 billion tons of oil
reserves in the Caspian Sea. Over the past ten years, Kazakhstan
has built its oil industry into a pillar industry, which attracts
huge foreign investment each year. The percentage the oil industry
represents of its total economy is as high as 80 percent. In 2002,
oil production was 47 million tons, among which 10 million tons
were consumed domestically, the rest exported abroad. According to
information from departments concerned in the Commonwealth of
Independent States, by 2015, oil production will reach 180 million
tons.
Considering Kazakhstan's land-locked geographic position, one
important condition of its strategy to "enrich the country through
resources" is to have safe and reliable oil pipelines extending in
all directions. Yet, old pipelines to Europe and the Black Sea are
limited, and therefore seeking a new energy path has become an
important task for Kazakhstan, as well as its tasks of diplomacy,
foreign trade and economics. It is against such a background that
Kazakhstan turned its eyes to China, his eastern neighbor.
From 1996, China became another oil importer. Currently, 30 percent
of China's oil consumption is imported. And the number will climb
to 120 million tons in 2010, and 210 million tons by 2020. So the
huge oil needs of China appeal to the oil industry in Kazakhstan.
What's more, to build energy paths towards the economy circle of
the Asia Pacific Region, through the west and the east of China,
seems to create a bright future for Kazakhstan.
Such an optimistic future cannot easily be altered by common
difficulties facing the two sides currently. In fact, experts from
both the Chinese and Kazakhstan governments are undertaking
research work on the possibilities of building oil pipelines from
the west of Kazakhstan to Karamay, Xinjiang. At the same time, the
two parties are busy developing transportation cooperation. The
annual freight transport volume of "the second Eurasian Continental
Bridge" from Otsuka to Shigeru has increased from 2 million to 5
million tons. Its target is to expand to around 12 million tons
annually in the future. Total trade volume reached US$1.5 billion
in 2000, US$1.23 billion in 2001, and US$ 1.7 billion in 2002.
Good neighborly relations
The past ten years have shown that it is of long-term vital
significance that the common stability and development of relations
between China and Kazakhstan remains.
Recently, incidents like 9/11 and the Iraqi War have had great
impact on the security of Eurasia. Terrorism, extremism and
separatism lingering in Central Asia present an unprecedented
threat to the region. Drug trafficking, illegal immigration and
weapon smuggling have all become active. Both China and Kazakhstan
have come to realize it is wise to promote the stability and
development of the region through effective and realistic
cooperation.
In
December 2002, China and Kazakhstan signed a series of important
documents (The China-Kazakhstan Good-Neighborly Treaty of
Friendship and Cooperation, The China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Treaty
on the Crackdown on Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, the
China-Kazakhstan Treaty on Preventing Dangerous Military
Activities), which have enabled friendly relations and mutual
benefit cooperation to deepen. The multi-phase exchange and
cooperation in the areas of government, society, news media, and
education and expert fields has helped this mutual understanding
and trust to continue. In February, China donated police facilities
valued at 1 million yuan to the Internal Affairs Ministry of
Kazakhstan. In April, the first Chinese teaching center donated by
Louzhou University was put to use at the State University of
Kazakhstan. With e-development, mutual understanding is
deepening.
Kazakhstan is a multi-ethnic nation of 131 ethnic groups with the
majority of the population from the Kazak ethnic group. There are
also more than 1.2 million Kazak people living in China's
Xingjiang, Gansu and Qinghai. Common historical roots and culture
enable the Kazak people to be messengers of friendship between the
two countries.
(The author is vice chief of the European and Asian Study
section at the China Institute of International Studies)
(China.org.cn translated by Zheng Guihong, June 2, 2003)