HAOL, Núm. 7 (Primavera, 2005), 83-92 ISSN 1696-2060 HAUNTED BY HISTORY: CHINA AND ITS NORTHWESTERN NEIGHBOURS Eric A. Hyer Department of Political Science, Brigham Young University, United States. E-mail: [email protected] Recibido: 08 Marzo 2005 / Revisado: 16 Abril 2005 / Aceptado: 12 Mayo 2005 / Publicado: 15 Junio 2005 Resumen: China’s current relations with its countries along the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, but northwestern neighbours, Russia, Mongolia, and left territory east of the rivers in "joint the newly independent states of Central Asia are possession" to be settled in the future. Two influenced by the shadow of the past that is cast years later Russia prevailed on China to over the present. To what degree does this negotiate the Treaty of Beijing. This treaty checkered past fundamentally determine the granted the territory between the Amur and possibility of close, strategic cooperation now Ussuri Rivers and the Sea of Japan to Russia1. and in the future? China’s important and complex relationship with Russia will be Czarist Russia also expanded into Central Asia considered first, followed by an analysis of where China claimed control over the area that China-Mongolian relations and finally China’s is today China's autonomous region of Xinjiang. relationship with the Central Asian status with The 1864 Chuguchak Protocol and the 1881 which it shares a common border. The important Treaty of Saint Petersburg (Treaty of Ili) defined America factor is also considered. The article generally the boundary between Russian Central concluyes that despite the closer relations that Asia and areas where China asserted control. are developing between China and its The boundary was eventually demarcated except northwestern neighbours, the historical legacy of for one sector in the Pamir Mountains. Russian domination, unequeal treaties, and ethnic troops occupied this area in the early 1890s, and conflict will haunt the significant improvement the Qing court protested by sending Russia a in relations. note stating that it retained its claim to the Palabras clave: Central Asian States, China, region even if it did not maintain a garrison internacional relations, Mongolia, Russia, there2. Following China's defeat in the Sino- United States. Japanese War of 1894-1895, Russia prevailed on _____________________ a weakened China to grant it the right to build a railroad across Manchuria to Vladivostok, ifferences deeply embedded in a long Russia's principle naval base in East Asia, and a history of conflict and territorial southern spur running southward through D disputes complicated China-Russian Manchuria to the Chinese port city of Lushun relations long before Communist regimes came (Port Arthur). This legacy of Russian to power in either China or Russia. Czarist encroachment into regions that the Chinese Russian expansion into regions claimed by consider their territory continued to plague China's Qing dynasty (1644-1911) eventually China-Soviet relations even into the final decade resulted in confrontation along the frontier that of the twentieth century when the boundary was separated these two empires. The two powers finally resolved by new treaties. concluded the Treaty of Nerchinsk in1689, delimiting the Far Eastern sector of the China- Following the establishment of the People's Russia boundary, in an effort to avoid further Republic of China in 1949, China and the Soviet conflict. During China's decline in the Union signed a treaty of friendship and alliance. nineteenth century, Russia continued to advance Thousands of Russian advisers went to China to into the Far East. Concluded in 1858, the Treaty train Chinese technicians, and Chinese students of Aigun redrew the boundary between the two were sent to the Soviet Union to study. With © Historia Actual Online 2005 83 Haunted by History Eric A. Hyer time, however, China's growing resentment of at Zhenbao (Damansky) Island in the Ussuri Soviet domination, ideological differences River proved that the boundary dispute could between the two countries, and boundary very well be the cause of a larger military disputes left over from the past sowed the seeds conflict. In the wake of the March clashes, of conflict that led to the Sino- Soviet split in tensions also rose along the border in Xinjiang, 1960, and eventually a border war in 1969. and during the summer of 1969 several other military incidents occurred. At the time, TERRITORIAL ISSUES IN CHINA- Moscow even considered a preemptive nuclear SOVIET RELATIONS strike on China, but boundary negotiations were initiated and a larger war was avoided5. Both Following the 1917 October Revolution, the China and the Soviet Union understood the real new Soviet government issued the Karakhan possibility of escalation and agreed to renew Manifestos of 1919 and 1920 which renounced boundary negotiations. all the treaties concluded by the czarist government with the Qing dynasty. However, BOUNDARY SETTLEMENT new boundary treaties were not a high priority in subsequent negotiations with China's republican During the 1970s and early 1980s the two government established after the 1911 countries made no progress toward a boundary revolution, but rather dealt with the issues of settlement. However, with the rise of Mikhail outer Mongolian independence and the Chinese Gorbachev in the mid-1980s, Chinese-Soviet Eastern Railway controlled by Russia. Mao relations began to improve. A significant Zedong raised territorial issues in early 1950 breakthrough came when Gorbachev, speaking while he was in Moscow negotiating the Sino- in July 1986 in Vladivostok, showed a clear Soviet alliance3. Several times during the next willingness to improve China-Soviet relations ten years China raised the boundary question and publicly stated that Russia was willing to with the Soviet Union, but in 1960, with the make necessary compromises to achieve a open split in the Sino-Soviet alliance, the boundary settlement. This significant leadership boundary dispute became a major source of change, and Russia's new conciliatory attitude bilateral tension. toward a boundary settlement, set the stage for renewed negotiations and an eventual settlement As ideological and political tensions escalated of the boundary6. between the Soviet Union and China, the Soviets grew concerned that the boundary Coupled with Gorbachev's Vladivostok initiative question had become such a salient issue in was the Soviet Union's growing willingness to Sino-Soviet relations. In May 1963 the Soviet withdraw its military from Afghanistan, which it Union proposed holding boundary consultations. had invaded in 1979, end its support for At the talks held in February 1964, Mao Vietnam's occupation of Cambodia, and prevented progress toward an agreement when dramatically reduce its troop strength along the he raised "historical" issues. He asserted that Chinese- Russia border and in Mongolia. during the czarist period, China had ceded more Progress in satisfying these three Chinese territory to Russia than to any other imperialist preconditions for normalization of relations country and that czarist Russia had expanded its resulted in the first Sino- Soviet summit in borders at the expense of China. Mao stated that twenty years in May 1989 when Gorbachev and "this list is too long and we have not presented Deng Xiaoping met in Beijing, formally ending our bill for this yet"4. The Russians responded the thirty-year-old Sino-Soviet split. by accusing China of betraying socialist internationalism and fostering a Maoist Mutual interest in improving bilateral relations personality cult. China accused Russia of Soviet and the absence of ideological shackles created imperialism and abandoning Marxism. After this an atmosphere of cooperation and resulted in a polemical exchange, the two powers made no relatively quick resolution of the boundary progress on boundary questions. dispute. Following Gorbachev's May 1989 trip to Beijing, negotiations moved forward rapidly, During China's Cultural Revolution (1966- and they signed a boundary treaty in May 1976), the boundary dispute was exacerbated by 1991covering the sectors on which they had the hyper-nationalistic and hyper-vigilant Red reached a compromise agreement when Chinese Guards. In March 1969 a military confrontation president Jiang Zemin traveled to Moscow. The 84 © Historia Actual Online 2005 Eric A. Hyer Haunted by History newly established Supreme Soviet of the cooperation resulted in several high-level Russian Federation ratified the accord on 3 meetings and agreements. The two leaders February 1992, and the Standing Committee of formally announced the strategic partnership the Chinese National Peoples Congress ratified during a summit meeting held in April 1996 in it on 25 February7. Russia and China concluded Shanghai. The two countries now have a a treaty delimiting the short fifty-three-kilometer thriving military relationship, with Russia's boundary to the west of Mongolia in September cash-strapped military industries supplying 1994. In April 1999 demarcation of the entire China's technologically backward military with Chinese-Russian boundary was finally advanced jet fighters, missiles, and naval completed, with the exception of the boundary vessels. In 1998 China ranked second, after at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers India, as the major purchaser of Russian military complicated by a few islands that remained in equipment; in the last five years, Beijing has dispute for another decade; the detailed maps spent over five billion dollars to acquire Russian and comprehensive documentation weighed hardware. Besides military hardware, Russia more than thirty kilograms8. also has sold China production technologies and has helped China develop new weapons systems In October 2004, Russia and China signed of an by sending Russian scientists to work in China's agreement settling the river boundary at the defense industries. Recently, Beijing and confluence of the Amur and Ussuri, finally Moscow announced that the Chinese and settling the 4,300 kilometer Chinese-Russian Russian militaries will hold joint maneuvers on boundary that was disputed for over three Chinese territory in the latter half of 2005.