Xinjiang: As an internal source of China's foreign policy towards Central Asia.
Introduction
Many global powers are still holding on to the approach of China as a “Rising power” while China has every reason to believe that it has already raised itself to the top in the global race to become Global Power if not the Superpower yet. The global Politics is once again reshaping itself in 21st century with China’s growing influence which is challenging USA hegemon. Beginning with its entry into the World Trade Organization in December 2001, China rapidly transformed its economy from a low-cost “factory to the world” to a global leader in advanced technologies [1]. This quite rise of Beijing as several scholar describe it is a successful coordination between its domestic and Foreign Policy. The changing domestic need from time to time has also governed its attitude towards its neighbour and siding with different states in International System, especially after economic reform in 1970s under Deng Xiaoping. The challenges of 1970s China and 2021 China is very different but yet the Foreign Policy approach taken long back can be seen favouring several recent internal developments like Energy security crisis. The paper focuses role Xinjiang on shaping China’s foreign Policy towards Central Asia. Xinjiang Autonomous Region is the only area which shares border with energy rich (particularly Hydrocarbon) Central Asia. The Central Asia region (CA) comprises the countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Location of Afghanistan has been debatable, whether to include it in Central Asia or South Asia (it being part of SAARC) but the region has been included in the paper for its share border with Xinjiang province. The article talks about inter challenges posed by Xinjiang, China’s own domestic need for CA, economic and security aspects of the policies adopted by People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Drivers
of China’s foreign policies.
Year 2022 will mark end of China’s 14th Five
Year Plan and end of Xi Jinping’s second term. The last 19th Party
Congress in October 2017, China acknowledged the prospect of a better future
which will accompanied by severe challenges [2]. The institutional
stability with the CCP, despite some difference in the recent years, has been
one of the fundamental reasons for China’s success in achieving global goals.
These goals that Beijing dreams to concur faces major challenges from the
ethnic and religious difference in Xinjiang and Tibet province. Xinjiang in
2009 erupted into ethnic violence between Uyghur Muslim and Han Chinese. Uyghur
being Muslim minority occupy a very significant province which is of great
geo-strategic importance to China. The Xinjiang Autonomous region is China’s
access to Central Asian countries. This landlock province shares border with
Magnolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and
India. Keeping the region as centre point towards its foreign policy to Central
Asia is important from economic, security and strategic point of view.
The
Economic reform in 1970s by Deng Xiaoping took the country out from isolation
and opened the vision for modernisation to take China out of its domestic
challenges. This approach also meant temporary dependency on USA after breaking
away soviet influence. The cooperation between two ideologically driven States
was short lived and now Beijing was in need of new partners to cope up with its
fast growth. Cooperation with immediate neighbour was kept as a top priority
after the cold war as USA was no more and immediate security threat anymore
though both continued to remain on the opposite side of the table. The
export-based economy of China needed a good image in the international market
for it, the State needed to assure its neighbour that it has come out from its
old radical ways of solving international grievances under Mao but now has
transformed its vision to a peaceful rise, development and harmony with its
neighbour[3]. The quest for modernisation and development
was met with increasing industrialization for domestic production but on the
flip side it increasingly got dependent on energy resources like oil. The
Central Asian country has caught eye of Beijing for its potential to full fill
China’s increases energy needs. Xinjiang is the interactive point with central
Asia, hence this north province important for mainland China for the challenges
it poses and beneficial opportunity it opens up for it.
Xinjiang
as an internal security issue
The
population composition is the first challenge to China’s internal security. The
major clash between Han Chinese and Uyghur Muslim in 2009 was the major
highlight though the rise of Uyghur Nationalism cannot be stated as a new
issue. This Multi-ethnic province, just like Tibet, do not consider PRC as the
legitimate authority in the region[4]. The territorial dispute with the Central
Asian countries was undoubtable settled peacefully by Beijing but the process
of territorialisation remains incomplete until population resolves to
integration with the mainland China. Uyghur make almost 47% of the population,
but compared to the census of 2010, the Han Chinese population in the region
grew by 25% as compared to Uyghur population which only grew by 16%, which is
the result of encouragement provided by migration to border Beijing’s Policy to
Han Chinese. The region future occupies one-sixth of china’s land but is
dominated by Minority, unrest in this region can make China Vulnerable to
outside forces.
The Xinjiang province is located on the
silk route, over the centuries it has act as a facilitator of trade, cultural
or communication exchange between West and East. The Uyghurs moreover identify
themselves culturally, religiously and ethnically closer to Central Asia. It
was in 1949 that china retained full control of Xinjiang Autonomous region.
Uyghur Nationalism can be traced back to 1865. Also, Uyghurs twice achieved
brief statehood; one from 1931 to 1934 with the establishment of
“Turkish-Islamic Republic of Eastern Turkestan” and another from 1944 to 1949
with the creation of the “East Turkestan Republic”. This brief experience of
statehood in fact, produced a kind of protonational identity[5]. The historical
claim China and Xinjiang are in dispute with each other, bring different
identity under one Chinese identity still remain major challenge for China. China
has been internally struggling with Uyghur Separatist movement and had blamed
separatist living outside in exile or as a refugee of inciting violence in the
region including allegation of working with terrorist organisation. Further the
terrorist group in Afghanistan, which shares a 1,480-mile border with
Central Asia, can easily infiltrate China through its Xinjiang area. These
Islamist group may get support from Uyghur community in the region.
Xinjiang: China’s crossroad to Central Asia
The region is centre of Domestic Gas
production and network of pipelines stretching towards gas rich central Asia
(Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). The instability or any type of
attack in the region will not only threaten China’s security but also damage
several infrastructures that China has built in the region to secure its energy
supply. The direct repercussion will on China’s export-based economy which is
in need of energy resources. According to recent reports China’s 32,800km (20,381-mile) expansion of its oil and gas pipeline is the highest in the world. PipeChina, known formally as China Oil and Gas Pipeline Network, will soon become the largest builder of gas pipelines in the world, according to Global Energy Monitor [6]. Recently, China
daily reported that the western segment of the third West-to-East pipeline
project runs from Horgos in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to Zhongwei,
and the eastern part runs from Ji'an to Fuzhou, Fujian province by PipeChina will
start soon to connect the western part to eastern part of China [7]. This major investment to connect
central Asia with rest of the China will only sustain if the region is free
from any internal security threat. Further, it is important to note that
China’s interest in getting energy resources from Central Asia and Russia is
its primary goal because of the cost efficiency of pipelines along with safety
of transport of Natural gas as compared to the sea route. Added to this already
network of supply lines the Xinjiang province is also the holder of major ports
through which China conducts Global Trade.
China
has provided Central Asia with adequate non-refundable funding for
infrastructural development most of the central Asian Countries aren’t
economically strong despite being rich in energy resources. It is one thing to
have resources and another thing to have adequate infrastructure for its
adequate utilisation. This vacuum is being filled by China in the region. China
has always used the concept of dependency for its own advantage. It has
converted its own energy requirement to its benefit by investing in Central
Asia and making them economically dependent on itself to a large extend. Not
only does it help these states these Muslim Countries to develop but also keep
them silent on China’s policy towards Xinjiang and Uyghur minority which China
states are measures to curb terrorism. Even Washington has tried to use
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan Uighur diaspora, against China but has
failed to large extent (Al Jazeera). China to secure its periphery has made
Central Asia tied to it through trade hence eliminating any possibility of them
becoming safe haven for Uyghur Refugees or activist, whom Beijing calls
terrorist.
BRI:
Belt and Road Initiative
Conclusion
China
has invested heavily in Xinjiang because of its geostrategic location. The
location itself is vital for China’s economic acceleration. Any Obstruction in
Xinjiang Autonomous region will mean a major halt to growing pace of
development. China’s economy is highly dependent on industrial production, this
requires massive energy supply. China’s has for long seen central Asia has
its major ally to satisfy its requirement but establishing relation with them
isn’t as much of a problem as controlling Xinjiang separatist movement is for
internal security of the State. Any upheaval in this region may ruin all the
investment China has done in Xinjiang itself and Central Asia. China’s policy
towards Uyghur Muslim have been criticized by the international community
despite this it has managed to in good books of Central Asian countries with
sizeable Uyghur diaspora. By taking Xinjiang as a reference point towards its
policy to Central Asia not only has it successfully found a market to survive
its energy requirement but also closed the gates of any interference from this
neighbouring Muslim countries in its affair to tackle Separatist movement by Uyghur.
[1] The Editors
(Monday Oct. 25, 2021), How a Rising China Has Remade Global Politics,
World Politics Review,
[2] Ben Lowsen (November 14th,
2017) the 19th party conference and its implication for
PLA, The Diplomat.
[3] Robert G. Sutter (2010) China’s
‘backyard’ Relations with the Korean Peninsula and Southeast Asia.
[4] Abanti Bhattacharya (2003) Conceptualising
Uyghur Separatism in Chinese Nationalism, IDSA monthly Journal
[5] ANI ( JUNE 15,2021) Population
growth of Han faster than ethnic minority Uygur in China's Xinjiang,
[6] , By Mohammed Hussein (16 Dec
202116 Dec 2021), Mapping the world’s oil and gas pipelines, Aljazeera,
[7](23/9/2021), PipeChina begins construction on gas pipeline segment, Chinadaily.com.cn
[8] Roza Nurgozhayeva (July 09, 2020), How
is China’s Belt and Road changing Central Asia, The Diplomat.
[9] Abhishek G Bhaya (Aug 16, 2021), Xinjiang:
A Gateway to China's Belt and Road Initiative.
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