Today, President Putin receives Chinese President Xi Jinping. Will “neutral” China finally show her colors and supply arms to Russia as the West fears? China is against war, but doesn’t want Russia to implode and become chaotic. This is what documentary filmmakers Jelle Brandt Corstius and Ruben Terlou say in BNR Perestrojkast, where they talk about their new travel program Along the New Silk Road. ‘China doesn’t like doing business with a democratic regime.’=
Listen to the full episode of the conversation here
According to the documentary makers, China does not want Russia “to be no longer a great power”. And it implodes and becomes chaotic. The alliance with Russia in fact gives a strong block of authoritarian regimes against the democratic West. The Communist Party sees democratization as a huge threat to its very existence. Imagine that Russia collapses and chaos ensues. Then suddenly China has democratic chaos on its border. This is a nightmare for Xi Jinping.”
“The Chinese don’t want democracy close at hand”
In Along the New Silk Road, Brandt Corstius and Terlou explore the former Central Asian Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, a region undergoing great change. While the countries were undeniably in the Russian sphere of influence (and many of them are home to large groups of ethnic Russians), this has changed rapidly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russian influence is rapidly diminishing because the Kremlin is focusing all its attention on the war and the West, and because China’s influence in the region is growing. After all, Central Asia is a crucial link in the economic chain linking China to Western Europe: the Belt and Road Initiative, better known as the New Silk Road.
Don’t trade a cent
“It’s really an area where you really feel the old Soviet past, or the connection to Russia, but where you increasingly come across China as a newcomer,” say the documentary makers. But despite the fact that the Central Asian republics are in the vanguard between two great powers, they do not just trade one patron for another.
Because it is undeniable that the inhabitants of the Central Asian republics are (re)discovering themselves, their culture and their past. This also includes greater freedom, insofar as this is possible within the authoritarian cadres of the Central Asian republics, which are far from an example of democracy. This rediscovery and the emancipation inherent in it can be felt in many areas, note Brandt Corstius and Terlou.
For example, young people, unlike their parents, strongly oppose the Russian language and the war in Ukraine. In any case, this war is an important catalyst in relations between the Central Asian countries and Russia. Russia is therefore increasingly seen as an imperialist nation. At the same time, Central Asian countries maintain an ambivalent relationship with China. Because although China is an autocratic colonizer, it is also the country with great economic opportunities.
Chinese colonialism
Never mind that Beijing has no problem making its way into Russia’s Central Asian underbelly: Tajikistan’s parliament is being built by the Chinese, China has invested heavily in western Kazakhstan’s oil industry: “You can really see the Chinese coming “.
‘China builds all sorts of things there. Roads and schools are built, Confucius institutes are established, students receive scholarships and journalists are also trained. He also sees China becoming more assertive when it comes to security cooperation. Until recently Russia was the policeman of the region, now you see that China is also entering many other partnerships.’
“It really shows that the Chinese are coming”
The extent to which a country is responsive to China’s economic and political advances depends in part on whether a country has sufficient natural resources. Where poverty-stricken Tajikistan is actually completely colonized by China (China has bases there, trains the military, and lends money to the government), gas- and oil-rich Kazakhstan assumes a much more independent stance. “It’s about Russia, China and Europe, fortunately.”
According to the documentary makers, the growing Chinese influence in the region runs counter to democratic trends. ‘China doesn’t like doing business with a democratic regime, because then you get tough questions. A democratic regime will be much more critical of what it does business with China. And this is more difficult to manage. China is actually a sponsor of the lack of freedom.’
Interested in developments in Central and Eastern Europe? Then listen to BNR Perestrojkast
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
