A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS CENTRAL ASIA Expanding the Concepts of National Interest and National Security Zille Huma PhD Thesis University of Sussex May 2014 Summary The present study provides an analysis of China’s foreign policy towards Central Asia to trace ‘culture of China’s foreign policy’. The culture of China’s foreign policy approach deals with China as an identity and process rather than being static or within boundaries. The present research highlights China’s multilateral and cooperative policies in Central Asia and with Russia as an outcome of evolutionary process of construction of China’s identity. The complex process of building relations with Central Asian region although within a short period of time (in post-Soviet context) are analysed to make a case for China’s innovative (partially) political processes of dealing with frontier security and embracing multilateralism. This is explained by studying the evolution of China’s identity and interests and the role of significant events that affect its perceptions of self and that are a prescription for its policy orientations as observed in case of foreign policy towards Central Asia. The theoretical foundation of Peter Katzenstein thesis is helpful premises upon which an argument in favour of the discourse of identity and security is developed to see how culture of national security of China and ‘complementarity’ of Central Asian states is at work in security cooperation seen among these states. By problematizing the notion of ‘national interest’, the present study argues that interests of the states can be contextualized in a broader environment referred as civilization to trace the relationship between interests and identities of China as at play in Central Asian region. By placing the political state of ‘China’ in the broader context of civilization and as evolving, helps understand how Chinese political spectrum seeks to construct and maintain a great power identity while locating ‘self’ against ‘others’. It further argues that the cooperative and multilateral policies of China in form of Shanghai Cooperation Organization can be understood best by studying how the configurations of identity of China has guided the policy formation process; that constructs and reconstructs interstate normative structure in form of SCO. Acronyms ARF ASEAN Regional Forum ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BTC Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (Pipeline) CAEC Central Asian Economic Community CAGP China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline CAP Central Asia Petroleum Limited CASS Chinese Academy of Social Sciences CCP Chinese Communist Party CGNPG China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group CIIS China Institute of International Studies CIS Commonwealth of Independent States CNOOC China National Offshore Oil Corporation CNPC E&D CNPC Exploration and Development Company Limited CNPC China National Petroleum Corporation CPC Communist Party of China CST Collective Security Treaty CSTO Collective Security Treaty Organisation ESPO Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean (Pipeline) EU European Union GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GDP Gross Domestic Product IEA International Energy Agency IR International Relations K2 Karshi-Khanabad Base KMG KazMunayGas (Kazakh National Oil Company) KTZ Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (Kazakh National Railway Company) LNG Liquefied Natural Gas MMG Mangistaumunaigas (Kazakh Oil Company) NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NIEO New International Economic Order NIS Newly Independent States NPT Non-Proliferation Treaty NTS Non Traditional Security ODIHR Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights OSCE Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe PLA People’s Liberation Army PRC People’s Republic of China RATS Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure RCTS Regional Counter Terrorism Structure SATs Centre-Central Asia Gas Pipelines SCO Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SINOPEC China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation Limited SOEs State Owned Enterprises TAPI Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India Pipeline UN United Nations UNSC United Nations Security Council UNWC UN Convention on Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses US United States of America USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics WEGP West-East Gas Pipeline Table of Contents Chapter 1 1.1. Background ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1. Nature of the Problem .............................................................................................. 2 1.1.2. The ‘New Great Game’ and Representation of China as ‘Competitor’ ..................... 2 1.1.3. Materialistic Assumptions Vs. Ground Realities ....................................................... 5 1.1.4. Why Practices are Different from Theories? ............................................................ 7 1.1.5. Research Objectives .................................................................................................. 9 1.3. Motivation for Research and Selection of Case Study ......................................................... 10 1.4. Research Methods and Approaches ............................................................................... 11 1.4.1. Document and Data Collection ............................................................................... 12 1.4.2. Previous Knowledge, Research Skills and Current Utilization ........................................ 12 1.5. Structure of the Thesis ......................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2 2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 15 2.2. The Rise of China and Its Implications for the International Order ................................ 16 2.2.1. Neo-Realism and China as Emerging Threat ................................................................. 17 2.2.2. Liberalism ...................................................................................................................... 22 2.2.3. Political Economy Approaches ...................................................................................... 24 2.2.4. Materialistic Approaches and the Problematized Notion of Fixed Identity ................. 27 2.2.6. Constructivism ........................................................................................................ 28 2.3. China’s Foreign Policy and Grand Strategy ..................................................................... 32 2.3.1. Sources of Change in the Foreign Policy of China ................................................... 33 2.3.2. The Role of Geo-Politics in Construction of Peaceful Rise of China ........................ 35 2.3.3. The Role of Soft Power ............................................................................................ 36 2.4. China’s Foreign Policy towards Central Asia ................................................................... 39 2.4.1. What China is doing in Central Asia and the Focus of Existing Approaches ................. 40 2.4.2. Interests-Driven Approach vs Interests-Defining Approach ................................... 43 2.5. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 3 3.1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 45 3.2. The ‘Great Game’ ................................................................................................................. 48 3.3. The ‘New Great Game’ ......................................................................................................... 51 3.4. The Central Asian Region After 1991 ................................................................................... 55 3.4.1. US Strategies and Interests ........................................................................................... 55 3.4.2. Russia’s Re-Emergence After 1991 ............................................................................... 59 3.4.3. China and an ‘Altering Game’ in Central Asia ............................................................... 60 3.4.4. New Players and Norms of Cooperation ....................................................................... 66 3.5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 68 Chapter 4 4.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 72 4.2. China’s Energy Security and Central Asia ............................................................................. 74 4.2.1. Historical Evolution of China’s Energy