With tensions with Russia bubbling beneath the surface, China has been keen to build ties with Ukraine and Belarus. They’ve been happy to reciprocate.
China may not yet have acted upon the eurozone’s pleadings for a bailout, but that doesn’t mean Beijing is playing a passive role in Europe. Indeed, as it expands its economic presence and political influence in the EU, it is also rapidly enlarging its presence in (and attraction) to Eastern Europe. Indeed, while China’s interests and motives in Russia and Central Asia are well known, its growing stake in Eastern Europe generally – and Ukraine and Belarus in particular – have received much less attention.
By 2009, China had begun to show an economic interest in former Soviet republics in Eastern Europe, lending Moldova, for example, $1 billion at 3 percent interest over 15 years. But China’s interest in Ukraine and Belarus as production centers of advanced Russian technology – and as places where China could examine Russian weapons and recruit Soviet scientists – dates back to 1992.
As Russian arms sales to China continue to decline, maintaining access to, and commercial interaction with, these states gives China at least some access to Russian military and technological developments in the weapons field. Since Russia now sells many fewer weapons and technologies to China, drawing closer to Ukraine may offer it a back door into the Russian defense sector either through licit or illicit means. Ukraine needs China’s arms market, and China needs the systems it can buy. This mutual interest became apparent during President Hu Jintao’s visit to Ukraine in June 2011. At his meetings with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, plans were announced to sell China Al-222-25 aircraft engines and lightweight supersonic aircraft. Ukraine is also discussing selling the license for this engine’s production to China, a move that conforms to other Chinese arms buys from Russia, where China sought to buy the license for the product. The condition for this sale is that China buys 250 engines.
But beyond arms sales, both sides have compelling commercial motives for coming together. If China is to succeed in building its version of the Silk Road, or railway ties straight through to Europe, it must traverse either Ukraine or Russia. Ukraine is a far less overbearing partner than Russia, and China is therefore deeply interested in positioning itself more in Eastern Europe as that area develops and as international transportation and communications projects bring it closer to China. In that way, it benefits from establishing ties to plants with lower production costs than in Western Europe, and takes advantage of large and growing markets in Ukraine, European Russia and neighboring countries.
Ukraine, for its part, is eager to elbow its way into those burgeoning Asian and Chinese markets to help secure a major economic partner beyond Russia to counter Moscow’s efforts to monopolize or dominate trade. Indeed, Yanukovych admitted that he hopes to expand what he calls tripartite cooperation among Ukraine, China, and Russia. Such projects would include railroad transit projects for more rapid delivery of products and selling Chinese pipes and compressors for the projected Russo-Chinese gas pipeline.
Yanukovych, meanwhile, is pursuing Chinese investments in Ukraine for massive infrastructural projects like those China has made in Central Asia, such as gas turbines and high-speed railroad tracks between Boryspol Airport and Kyiv. China acceded to Ukraine’s initiative for improved ties and the two presidents signed a strategic partnership agreement. They also signed accords on $3.5 billion worth of deals, including funding for the high-speed railway to Boryspol airport, unspecified energy deals and $12 million in financial aid to Ukraine.
Photo Credit: Chinese Foreign Ministry
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Legas
“But beyond arms sales, both sides have compelling commercial motives for coming together. If China is to succeed in building its version of the Silk Road, or railway ties straight through to Europe, it must traverse either Ukraine or Russia…”
Railway to Europe thorough Ukraine without Russian territory?????? hahaha)))) look at the globes, author.
Mario Navarro
Yes it is very much about trade, but one can not also leave out the military interests also, for example, China does not clearly have the engines it really wants on some of their fighters, like the J-20 and they are really after any ways of obtaining Russian technology, to reverse engineer or to get the know how to be able to produce their own engines, this is big to China’s hope’s to be able to have influence beyond their territorial waters.
gon
So, if they buy it instead of stealing it, isn’t that better? Don’t be arrogant and pompous that the buyer country is incapable of producing the same technology. Some countries prefers to buy as it is faster than re-designing the wheel. That’s how franchises and patents business works.
Trade prospers both parties unless one party is paranoid and has huge ego, fearing the other party or country will eventually eclipse him or his country, in which case then, it has nothing to do with trade but fear and paranoia. And people who talks in that manner exhibits the same unhealthy symptoms. Nothing else need be said thereafter.
AT
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, any other country will benefit from trading with China or with any other counry for that matter. What’s the fuss about? Think economy, not rockets, it’s American business.
ari
Its just trade. Don’t read too much into it. China trades with everyone, just as Russia will do the same in due course. Trade prospers everyone. So, please leave the paranoia out. Paranoia is synonymous with Washington. Let’s not be infected with that plague.
Mikhail
You said it right. It’s beneficial for China, so it is for othr countries involved.
George
Russia will have to start offering sweeter deals in order to compete against Chinese diplomacy with former soviet states. In the end, this is good news for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
SCdad07
The Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) project initiated in the 1960s and it’s progress have so far being ‘overlooked’ by any of ‘The Diplomat’ contributor.
There is no need to wait for another politician to publish another ‘pivot’.
John Chan
In order to share prosperity with Eastern Europe such as Belarus and Ukraine at lower cost, China needs to convince Eastern European nations to replace their wide gauge railroad with standard gauge railroad; Russian odd gauge railroad is adding unnecessary cost to the rapid and wide spread development and progress.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s complain reflected that Russian is still stuck in the USSR era of business mindset, exclusive right and monopoly; such mindset will not survive in the competitive commercial world nowadays. Russian should view the competition from China as a welcome chance to modernize Russian business practice to meet the challenges from ever increasing globalized commerce environment.