The Conflict, Cooperation, and Competition of Sino-Russian Relations: Focused on Tumen River and the East Sea

( Jung Won Cho ) 국민대학교 유라시아연구소 2012 Eurasian Review Vol.5 No.-

Russia and China had struggled for the exit to the East Sea Since Qing Dynasty. Qing dynasty had defeated in the First Opium War and the Second Opium War by the Western power nations and Russia, Czarist Russia obtained Vladivostok Port(In Chinese, 海?威) due to Beijing Protocol on October 24, 1860. After ratification of Beijing Protocol, Wu Dacheng (吳大?) represented Qing Dynasty, negotiating the right to enter the East Sea to Czarist Russia. His effort made the Russo-Chinese Eastern Border Treaty in April, 1886. Russo-Chinese Eastern Border Treaty secured Chinese right to access the East Sea. But, the battle of Zhangqiaofeng battle and the battle of Nomonhan made China lose its passage to the East Sea after the collapse of Qing Dynasty. After the end of the Second World War, the Soviet-Chinese relations blocked the opportunity to negotiate on the root of the East Sea. Moreover, North Korea did not open it to China due to the threat of Chinese expansion to the ocean. This uncomfortable situation to China had relaxed after the change of Soviet foreign policy by Gorbachev and mutual needs for normalization of Russo-China relations. The Tumen River Area Development Plan and Grand Tumen Initiative gave space and opportunity to cooperate between Russia, China, and North Korea. Although the International Financial Crisis and the collapse of Russian economy in the bottom of 1990`s gave difficulty to the boost of TRADP, Russia and China began to invest domestic funds from the 2000`s and was able to revive the plan. Moreover, aggravation of North Korean economy attenuated Kim Jeong-il and his government`s negotiation power to China since 2004. It helped the attainment of Chinese aim on the negotiation, the development of TRADP, with North Korea. TRADP changed the name to GTI in 2005. During the development process of GTI, North Korea constructed economic free zone in Nasun to cooperate with China and a railway from Rajin to Far Eastern regions with Russia. North Korea gave a wharf to Russia and China that need the expansion of unfrozen dock and the best exit to the East Sea separately. It made GTI more sustainable. China and Russia need to develop eastern border districts to satisfy their soared demand on domestic economic growth; they want to secure the right to free access to the East Sea to reach the Pacific without any limits. Their economic cooperation in the Tumen River area can benefit the stabilization of eastern border and North Korea. It will be helpful to boost their economic development in the Northeastern China and Far Eastern Russia. These linkages with domestic factors and international factors made Russo-Chinese cooperation in the East Sea sustainable. Nevertheless, there are remained and forthcoming impediments. The competition on the Rajin port and different views of military collaboration in the northern four Russian islands are unresolved obstacles of mutual cooperation in the East Sea. It is not clear if they will cooperate with the radical change of North Korea: the presence of United States Army in North Korea after the unification in the Korean peninsula. Therefore, these representative cases of conflict, competition, and cooperation in Tumen River and the East Sea revealed the characteristic of Russo-Chinese relation. Economic cooperation without mutual conflicts will be developed. But, different thought and conflicts made Russia and China develop their conventional security alliance. It proves that Russia and China cannot form continental alliance, which confronts the ocean alliance among United States, Japan, and South Korea.

The Conflict, Cooperation, and Competition of Sino-Russian Relations: Focused on Tumen River and the East Sea

조정원 국민대학교 유라시아연구소 2012 Eurasian Review Vol.5 No.-

Russia and China had struggled for the exit to the East Sea Since Qing Dynasty. Qing dynasty had defeated in the First Opium War and the Second Opium War by the Western power nations and Russia, Czarist Russia obtained Vladivostok Port(In Chinese, 海叁威) due to Beijing Protocol on October 24, 1860. After ratification of Beijing Protocol, Wu Dacheng (吳大澂) represented Qing Dynasty, negotiating the right to enter the East Sea to Czarist Russia. His effort made the Russo-Chinese Eastern Border Treaty in April, 1886. Russo-Chinese Eastern Border Treaty secured Chinese right to access the East Sea. But, the battle of Zhangqiaofeng battle and the battle of Nomonhan made China lose its passage to the East Sea after the collapse of Qing Dynasty. After the end of the Second World War, the Soviet-Chinese relations blocked the opportunity to negotiate on the root of the East Sea. Moreover, North Korea did not open it to China due to the threat of Chinese expansion to the ocean. This uncomfortable situation to China had relaxed after the change of Soviet foreign policy by Gorbachev and mutual needs for normalization of Russo-China relations. The Tumen River Area Development Plan and Grand Tumen Initiative gave space and opportunity to cooperate between Russia, China, and North Korea. Although the International Financial Crisis and the collapse of Russian economy in the bottom of 1990’s gave difficulty to the boost of TRADP, Russia and China began to invest domestic funds from the 2000’s and was able to revive the plan. Moreover, aggravation of North Korean economy attenuated Kim Jeong-il and his government’s negotiation power to China since 2004. It helped the attainment of Chinese aim on the negotiation, the development of TRADP, with North Korea. TRADP changed the name to GTI in 2005. During the development process of GTI, North Korea constructed economic free zone in Nasun to cooperate with China and a railway from Rajin to Far Eastern regions with Russia. North Korea gave a wharf to Russia and China that need the expansion of unfrozen dock and the best exit to the East Sea separately. It made GTI more sustainable. China and Russia need to develop eastern border districts to satisfy their soared demand on domestic economic growth; they want to secure the right to free access to the East Sea to reach the Pacific without any limits. Their economic cooperation in the Tumen River area can benefit the stabilization of eastern border and North Korea. It will be helpful to boost their economic development in the Northeastern China and Far Eastern Russia. These linkages with domestic factors and international factors made Russo-Chinese cooperation in the East Sea sustainable. Nevertheless, there are remained and forthcoming impediments. The competition on the Rajin port and different views of military collaboration in the northern four Russian islands are unresolved obstacles of mutual cooperation in the East Sea. It is not clear if they will cooperate with the radical change of North Korea: the presence of United States Army in North Korea after the unification in the Korean peninsula. Therefore, these representative cases of conflict, competition, and cooperation in Tumen River and the East Sea revealed the characteristic of Russo-Chinese relation. Economic cooperation without mutual conflicts will be developed. But, different thought and conflicts made Russia and China develop their conventional security alliance. It proves that Russia and China cannot form continental alliance, which confronts the ocean alliance among United States, Japan, and South Korea.

Northeast Asian Economic Cooperation and the Korean Peninsula Economy: The Impact of the Changjitu Development Plan

이남주 한국학중앙연구원 한국학중앙연구원 2011 Korea Journal Vol.51 No.2

This study discusses how advancing the Changjitu Development Plan can facilitate Northeast Asian cooperation and contribute to the peace and unification of the Korean peninsula. It uses the concept of the Korean peninsula economy to emphasize that the unification of the Korean peninsula serves as an open process for Northeast Asian cooperation. There are concerns that economic cooperation between North Korea and China may negatively influence the North Korean nuclear crisis. However, this study maintains that factors such as the response proffered by actors such as South Korea can influence the various methods and opportunities to overcome the problem and that North Korea’s active efforts for regional cooperation in the form of the TRADP will not only bring Northeast Asian economic cooperation to a new level but also facilitate the resolution of the North Korean nuclear crisis. Lastly, attempts are made to introduce a development strategy that revolves around clear relations between Northeast Asian economic cooperation and the Korean peninsula economy.

두만강개발계획과 중국의 ‘창지투(長吉圖)’ 개발개방 先導區

呂弼順(Lu, Bishun),金光益(Jin Guangyi) 계명대학교 국제학연구소 2011 국제학논총 Vol.16 No.-