China and Central Asia in the Post-Soviet Era by Olimat Muhamad S.;

Author:Olimat, Muhamad S.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lexington Books

Kazakhstan coordinated with the United States against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. China also cooperated in varying degrees with the United States and deeply influenced Washington’s perception of the terrorist threat in Central Asia. However, it demanded that the UN assume the leading role in the “war on terror.” In exchange for its cooperation, in 2003 Washington designated the ETIM a terrorist organization. As a result, anti-terror operations and coordination tops the Sino-Kazakh agenda.

Beijing is primarily interested in combating East Turkistani separatists. Therefore, it organized ten anti-terror drills through the SCO since June 2001. Most recently, and most notable, on August 24, 2014, it hosted the SCO’s multilateral anti-terror drill, the 2014 “Peace Mission,” in its Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The drill was supervised by the deputy chiefs of general staffs of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, along with the deputy commander of Russia’s eastern military command. An estimated that 7,200 troops participated: 5,000 from China and 2,200 from four other SCO countries. “The drill focused on joint multilateral decision making and action, with exchanges of anti-terror intelligence among the SCO members to effectively boost the troops’ coordinated ability to fight terrorism . . . aims to deter the “three evil forces” of terrorism, separatism and extremism.”41

Finally, Sino-Kazakh cooperation includes the establishment of a nuclear-free Central Asia. Nevertheless, Beijing supports Astana’s plan to construct a peaceful nuclear programs to meet its increasing demands for electricity, nuclear medicine, and other related aspects of nuclear energy. China has also introduced renewable energy technology in the areas of solar and wind energy.

Conclusion

Sino-Kazakh relations, which have grown rapidly since 1992, culminated in the 2006 strategic partnership agreement that is based primarily on energy cooperation. Kazakhstan exports 16% (estimated at 220,000 bpd) of its annual oil production to China; this is expected to increase to 400,000 bpd. Their economies are increasingly integrating in a complementary fashion. Chinese corporations are heavily involved in the minerals sector, construction projects, exporting goods and services, consumer goods, telecommunications, aviation technology, agricultural technology, the pharmaceutical industry, and other sectors. Both countries are coordinating closely in responding to regional security threats. Their views on regional and international affairs, which seem to be identical, are characterized by close coordination at the highest levels. Beijing and Astana also emphasize the importance of cultural relations, people-to-people ties, and, most importantly, the revival of the Silk Road spirit and trade in order to integrate the economies of the traditional zone of the Silk Road Economic Belt and Eurasia.

The future of Sino-Kazakh relationship is very promising, for it is grounded in mutual support of each other’s core issues. However, their bilateral engagement is increasingly tilting in China’s favor due to the latter’s ambitious agenda for exploiting the Kazaks’ large oil, natural gas, and agricultural resources, not to mention its mineral wealth. This trend has generated some anxiety among the country’s nationalists and Islamists.

Notes

1. China Daily, September 7, 2013. President Xi Proposes Silk Road Economic belt at:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013xivisitcenterasia/2013-09/07/content_16951811.htm

2. Kemp, Geoffrey, 2010, The East Moves West: India, China and Asia’s Growing Presence in the Middle East.

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