The Chinese consider the Far East of Russia "their" territory. Point of attraction - Russian Far East

A little more than a year has passed since the publication of the proposed article. And it would be extremely interesting to know the opinion of the inhabitants of the Far East about whether the authors' forecasts came true, how the situation has changed over the past year, which was extremely eventful with various events.

***

Russia, according to Illarionov, must pay for its position on Ukraine with its territories. Including with those countries that do not support the punitive operations of the Kiev junta against the Russian-speaking population, for example, with Belarus and China

At the end of October 2014, some American and Chinese media published a statement by A. Illarionov, former adviser to the President of the Russian Federation (2000-2005), who now lives in the United States. This Russian liberal reformer, who since the fall of 2006 has been a senior fellow at the Center for Global Freedom and Prosperity at the Cato Institute (Washington), made another prediction about how the further development of the “Ukrainian crisis” could end for Russia.

According to A. Illarionov, the worst scenario is that "a new cold war will turn into a large-scale hot war", as a result of which "losing Russia ... will have to return to its neighbors those territories that were once appropriated by it."

What territories, according to the forecast of this American expert, should Russia give up? And to whom? Quote: “Siberia and 1.5 million square kilometers of the land of the Far East - to China, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin - to Japan, the territory of the Kaliningrad region (former East Prussia) - to Germany. Russia owes Ukraine five regions in the south of the country, and Belarus owes two in the north. Some areas in the northwest are Estonia and Latvia, and most of the territory in the north is Finland.

What does our former high-ranking official, turned employee of an American institution (by the way, an institution that advocates "reducing military and political interference in international politics") describe here?

He describes not just a military conflict between Russia and some alliance of countries with conflicting interests. It does not just include China in this alliance. He says that this conflict will give rise to the collapse of the entire Yalta-Potsdam world order. Which is possible only if Russia signs an act of unconditional surrender. After all, only on the basis of such an act is it possible to dismember Russia. Illarionov understands that such a military conflict will inevitably give rise to a war using strategic nuclear weapons. And what kind of infected territories will go to whom after that - will it already be so important? And most importantly - because of what all these horrors can happen? Due to the fact that Russia very delicately defends its interests in the conflict with the Bandera junta, which illegally seized power in Ukraine?

Let us once again draw the reader's attention to the fact that Russia, according to Illarionov, must pay for its position on Ukraine with its own (including primordial) territories. Including with those countries that also do not support the punitive operations of the Kiev junta against the Russian-speaking population, for example, with Belarus and China.

But in this case, we are more concerned not with the “generosity” of A. Illarionov, who represents the position of a certain part of the world elite, but with some actions of Russian officials, experts and representatives of the white ribbon opposition, which threaten the territorial integrity of Russia without any external military aggression.

In previous articles of the newspaper, we have already begun to analyze the situation of economic and social regression that has developed in Siberia and the Far East as a result of the so-called liberal reforms of the 1990s. Unfortunately, the attempts made by the authorities in the 2000s failed to turn the tide. After all, it can be reversed only by putting forward and implementing one major strategic project of fundamental renewal of the Far Eastern region, which is precious to Russia. Instead of one such project, there are many projects on a much smaller scale.

Among them, for example, the projects "Greater Vladivostok" (1990-1993), "Pacific Russia" (2003-2006), "Primorye Development Strategy until 2025". However, none of these projects was implemented. And between the projects, according to experts, there is "no continuity, each new leader drew his own strategic line, regardless of what his predecessors did."

Such a policy has given rise to a wary attitude among a part of the regional elite towards the next project of the new Russian Minister for the Development of the Far East (Ministry of Development of the Far East) Alexander Galushka.

With the advent in September 2013 of this next head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, a professor at the Higher School of Economics (this “stronghold of liberal reforms”), the concept of “Advanced Development Territories” (TOP) was adopted, which should “attract private investment”. Its essence lies in the fact that the "most promising" ASEZs and investment projects will be selected, which will receive all kinds of preferences and initial budget financing. At the same time, the main stake is placed on a foreign private investor from the Asia-Pacific region (APR). And, accordingly, the integration of the Russian Far East with the Asia-Pacific countries is increasing.

For ASEZs, all bureaucratic and legal procedures will be significantly simplified. Among them: the withdrawal of land plots for the expansion of the ASEZ, the creation of free customs zones, the abolition of the quota for attracting foreign labor, the provision of preferential tax rates.

This concept, with all the possible advantages (the main one, of course, is the influx of foreign investment), also has significant risks for the stability of the Far East region and the territorial integrity of the country. Let's define these risks.

Russian officials took as a basis the experience of China, where there are already more than 400 (!) Territories of Advanced Development. These strategic projects, which attract more than 45% of foreign direct investment, already provide about 20% of GDP and 60% of export products. At the same time, according to experts, now the Chinese leadership is trying to change the economic model and is focusing on developing not the export industry, but the domestic market and small businesses. And as the statements and actions of the Chinese elite show, cooperation with Russia is aimed at the implementation of this new economic model.

For example, in May 2014, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Government Li Yuanchao announced the possibility of “gradually creating a new bloc in East Asia - the Russian Far East and northern China (They can create an economic zone).” In this concept, according to Li Yuanchao, there is also a preliminary “division of labor”: huge Russian land and natural resources, on the one hand, and a large Chinese “labor force,” on the other.

Let us pay attention to the fact that such a “division of labor” is taking place against the backdrop of the ongoing outflow of our population from the Russian Far East. Now the number of inhabitants of this macro-region is about 6 million 220 thousand people. At the same time, about 120 million live on Chinese territory adjacent to the border with Russia.

Thus, by focusing on the concept of TOP when looking for ways to develop the Far East, we can obviously get an uncontrolled flow of labor from China and other countries of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the expansion of foreign companies into the Russian market. And this, in turn, will cause an increase in social tension and unemployment among the local population and will force out uncompetitive Russian small and medium-sized businesses from the region.

Some experts directly say that "in the absence of their own labor resources and national interests of domestic business, the predominance of commercial approaches in the development of the Far East [among the elite], the movement will go according to the concession scenario." And this, in turn, will lead to the loss of the Far East.

And this process is facilitated by the rather provocative behavior of part of the local and federal elite.

So, from August 29 to 31, 2014, the V-ROX music festival was held in Vladivostok, which was attended by the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East A. Galushka. Moreover, two weeks before this event, A. Galushka agreed to participate (within the framework of this festival) in "discussions about the prerequisites for the formation and prospects for the creation of the Pacific Republic." It is unlikely that such disputes are part of the duties of a civil servant. And here we are talking either about the illegibility of an official, or about the fact that the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East belongs to that part of the Russian elite for which the territorial integrity of the country is not an unconditional value.

Later, on the official website of the festival, the topic that was going to be discussed sounded like this: "Pacific Russia - existence, development and prospects."

But the most significant thing seems to be not whether they are talking about the Pacific Republic or Pacific Russia, but who our head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East is talking to. Among the interlocutors of the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East were the editor and translator Maxim Nemtsov, as well as the writer and journalist of Novaya Gazeta in Vladivostok Vasily Avchenko. The latter is a co-author (together with the vocalist of the Mumiy Troll group I. Lagutenko) of the book Vladivostok 3000, in which there is such a thing as the Pacific Republic.

Here is what the abstract says: “The book “Vladivostok-3000”, a film story about the Pacific Republic is ... a film story closely connected with reality about the existence of a parallel world-space — the city of Vladivostok-3000, in which the features of the real Vladivostok merged with the features of its alternative, but unrealized incarnations... Vladivostok-3000 is a romantic dream of the Pacific Republic... of an ideal port city - free, environmentally friendly, independent, where no one pays attention to which side of the car the steering wheel is on... The film story tells how to get to this Pacific Republic, is it possible to ask for political asylum in it, and how the two worlds are interconnected - the real-life Vladivostok ... and the amazing Vladivostok-3000, which so far exists only on the pages of the work of the same name.

Let us pay attention to the fact that another interlocutor of the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, who discussed the topic of "prospects for Pacific Russia", M. Nemtsov from 1994 to 2001. worked as Assistant Consul for Press and Information at the US Consulate General in Vladivostok. And in this regard, we note that after the submission to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the draft law “On Territories of Advanced Socio-Economic Development” (PSEDA), which gives great benefits to Asia-Pacific countries when investing in the development of the Far East, several high-ranking employees of the US State Department who have direct relation to the organization of the "orange revolutions" in the post-Soviet space.

At least three such visits were reported by local media.

So, from October 23 to 28, the capital of Primorye was going to visit the analyst of the Russia and Eurasia Department of the US State Department, Beverly de Wald, who was an employee of the American embassy in Pristina (Kosovo), where she “helped the government of this republic with writing and adopting a declaration of independence.”

On October 24-25, First Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Paul Jones was expected in Vladivostok. Experts say that this deputy to Victoria Nuland was involved in the "operational center of the US State Department during the fall of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, and from 1992 to 1994. worked at the US Embassy in Moscow.

And, finally, in the last days of October, US Deputy Ambassador to Russia Lynn Tracy, who worked in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, wanted to visit Vladivostok.

Thus, while the Russian elite has been determined (or pretends to be determined) for more than 23 years with the development strategy of that region of Russia, on the fate of which the future of our Fatherland largely depends, the countries of the West and the Asia-Pacific region are consistently pursuing a policy aimed at implementing their economic and geopolitical interests. And quite often these interests are incompatible with the life of modern Russia.

Eduard Kryukov, Anton Beznosyuk

Cooperation between the Far East of Russia and American Alaska has great prospects, and this is due to both economic and political reasons - Alaska is trying to distance itself from Washington. This opinion was expressed by the expert Vladimir Vasiliev.

Alaska and the Russian Far East need to build relationships through joint work. This was stated by the mayor of the state's largest city of Anchorage Ethan Berkowitz.

"The Russian Far East is closer to Alaska than to Moscow. Anchorage is closer to the Russian Far East than to Washington. Since we are neighbors, the more we know about each other, the better we can become," RIA Novosti quotes the words Berkovitsa.

“There are many high-level divisions between our governments right now. But when we think about these conflicts, we also need to think about what our world will look like in the future. And the more connections we can have between cities and between people the more opportunities we may have to prepare for a better future," the mayor added.

At the end of July, the 23rd meeting of the Russian-American Pacific Partnership (RAPP) took place in Anchorage. The possibility of concluding agreements on cooperation in the Bering Strait and control over the movement of ships, the expansion of Yakutia Airlines flights to Alaska, and cooperation in the oil and gas field were discussed.

In addition, the Russian Far East and Alaska have the potential to develop tourism between the regions. So says the head of the World Trade Center Alaska, Greg Wolf. "We have direct tours from Anchorage to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the summer. There are opportunities for cultural tourism in both directions. This is an area that has potential," Wolf told RIA Novosti.

In his opinion, the cooperation of American business with the Russian Far East is stalling due to lack of awareness. Potential partners do not know what projects exist, nor do they have information on how to participate directly in them.

Russian potential interests Alaska

This collaboration can indeed be productive, says Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute for the USA and Canada.

"The socio-economic position of Alaska, due to geography, depends on the system of external relations. This is both Canada and the main part of the United States, where oil from Alaska goes. At the same time, Alaska is part of the East Asian region, and the state of affairs in the region seriously affects this American state. Since Russia is a neighbor of Alaska, there really are prospects for joint projects. This is the development of the shelf, and, most importantly, cooperation in the Arctic," said the expert of the FBA "Economy Today".

It is important to keep in mind that the average per capita standard of living in Alaska is the highest in the United States. The reasons are obvious - natural resources and a small population. For the further development of the state, new projects are needed, respectively, the authorities of Alaska are open to contacts.

According to Vasiliev, the statement of the mayor of Anchorage is real, it indicates the interest of the state authorities, and "you can bet on it." "Alaska, I repeat, is very dependent on external economic relations, and therefore the Russian potential for exports and imports is in the field of view of the state authorities," the expert said.

Beyond the White House

The establishment of economic ties with Russia may also be caused by political factors, he did not rule out.

"These aspirations may be related to the general mood on the west coast. Today, California, for example, behaves very independently. Today, California and several other states are increasingly distancing themselves from official Washington. It is possible that the administration of Alaska also takes into account these sentiments, assuming that it is worth be on a long leash at the White House, keeping not only a geographical, but also a political distance," Vladimir Vasiliev explained.

China continues to actively develop the Russian Far East, investing in it enormously. The other day, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui, visiting Vladivostok, announced that China's total investments in the development of the Far East amounted to more than $30 billion. Chinese business directs the largest investments in the oil and gas industry, agriculture, and the financial sector.

Every year, China invests $116 billion in foreign countries, $7 billion of which goes to Russia. It has long been known that the Far East and part of the regions of Eastern Siberia are of great interest to China. Taking into account, on the one hand, the close geographical proximity, and, on the other hand, the richest resources of these Russian regions, China's interest is quite understandable. Now Chinese investments account for 85% of all foreign investments in the development of the Far East. There are 20 Chinese enterprises operating in Vladivostok and the priority development areas alone, and it is obvious that in the future their number will only grow.

Chinese entrepreneurs have been actively working in the Far East and Eastern Siberia for a long time. Of course, they are primarily interested in natural resources. Previously, a century ago, Chinese merchants and semi-criminal elements penetrated the Far East for furs and ginseng. Now the activities of Chinese businessmen are mostly legal. However, in many cities of the Far East there are more and more Chinese firms and Chinese workers. It is known that the Chinese leadership does not prevent the "creeping" resettlement of Chinese workers in the regions of the Far East, knowing full well that in this way it increases its influence in the Far East and at the same time solves the problems of overpopulation in the northeastern and eastern provinces of the PRC, from where it comes to the Far East the bulk of the migrants.

Russia prefers to be friends with China, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't worry about Chinese economic expansion in the Far East. First, the Far East is an extremely sparsely populated region of Russia, especially in proportion to its area. Secondly, Chinese business, acting quite expansively, does not at all contribute to the development of Russian business itself. After all, Chinese companies are quite assertive and active, leaving no room for Russian competitors.

Although, on the other hand, the quality of infrastructure in the Far East is improving, jobs are appearing - including for the local population, more and more impressive funds are coming in, part of which goes to the development of territories. Chinese investments not only develop interesting projects, but also contribute to the further growth of the economic dependence of the Far East on neighboring China. Which is not surprising, given the enormous distance to Central Russia and the complexity of transport links.

What should Russia do in this situation? Attempts to more actively develop the Far East are also being made by the Russian government. It was not for nothing that the law on the Far Eastern hectare was adopted - somewhat "clumsy", but correct in that it draws attention to the very urgent problem of low population and undeveloped Far Eastern territories. Another thing is whether Moscow will be able to compete with Beijing in the current situation, or whether China will have to invest in the development of the Far East in the future more and more than Russia itself.

Stretched along the Pacific coast for 4.5 thousand km. The significant extent of the territory from north to south, the peculiarities of the geographical position determined the great diversity and contrast of the nature of the region.

On the territory of the south of the Far East, elements of the flora and fauna of the northern Siberian and southern subtropical regions are mixed. This feature was also noticed, who wrote: “Here, spruce is often entwined with wild grapes, birch grows next to a velvet tree, and in the snow you can find traces of both a tiger and a sable.”

Despite its considerable length, there are only two natural zones on the territory of the district. From the north to 60 N dominates, and the rest is located in. A characteristic feature of the latitudinal is the shift to the south of the borders (as in the Urals).

The highest peaks are occupied by tundra-like mountain tundra. Lichen and shrub tundra stand out here.

Even the highest peaks are located below the snow line, so glaciers are unusual for the mountains of the southern part of the Far East.

In general, a similar character of altitudinal zonation is characteristic. However, in contrast to Primorye, the boundaries of natural zones are lowered, and, in addition, a belt of light (park) forests of stone birch appears, located between coniferous forests and thickets of elfin cedar.

Coniferous-broad-leaved forests are no longer found, due to the proximity of the cold. The foothills of the mountains are occupied by dark coniferous spruce-fir forests, covering most of the slopes, and rising to a height of 600-800 m. Above, forests of stone birch, giving way to mountain tundra in the highest areas.

A peculiar character of altitudinal zonation is characteristic. A specific feature is the low position - 1500-1600 m - of the snow line. This is facilitated by the constant penetration of moist air and a large amount of winter precipitation. However, there are not very many on the peninsula, since volcanic activity prevents their formation.

The most typical for Kamchatka are park stone birches. In the clearings of sparse forests in moist places, tall grasses of plants of the Umbelliferae and Compositae families are developed. In places with excessive moisture, there are especially a lot of silkworm and Komarov's horsetail. Giant umbrella - sweet grass - amazes with height and speed of growth: in 10-12 days the plant reaches 2-3 meters in height.

Stone birch forests in combination with occupy the central parts of the slopes. Above them they are replaced by thickets of elfin cedar, and below by spruce and larch forests.

The simplest spectrum of altitudinal zonality is characteristic of the Koryak highland, located in the tundra zone. The lower parts of the slopes up to a height of 200-250 m are occupied by thickets of dwarf pine, higher are mountain tundra. The tops of the ridges are occupied by snow and glaciers. The height of the snow line is 1200-1700 m.

In December last year, a petition by a resident of Angarsk addressed to the President of Russia made a splash on the Internet. It said that in the village of Listvyanka near Lake Baikal, Chinese citizens illegally open hotels with restaurants, buying up plots of land (and not paying any taxes), they say, soon "the old Russian village will turn into one of the Chinese provinces." The appeal was signed by 60 thousand people, and this suggests the following: people in the Far East, looking at the huge China nearby, are really worried - will their friendly neighbor not embrace them in an overly warm embrace?

Fled because of the ruble

Let's start with the fact that in the northern provinces of China, I met many local citizens who previously worked in Primorye and Siberia as cooks, market traders, and waiters. They all left home three years ago. The reason is simple - the weakening of the ruble. “I would be glad to live in Russia further, I wanted to bring my family to you,” says ex-guest worker Van Coon. - But I don’t see the point in this - now the average salaries in China and you are actually equal. In Harbin, I earn the same as in Primorye - 4,500 yuan, which is about 40 thousand rubles. More than half of my Chinese acquaintances who worked in Vladivostok and Blagoveshchensk left Russia.” The Chinese economy is growing and living standards are rising. Surprisingly, even their own illegal immigrants appeared - I myself witnessed a street showdown in Shanghai, when the police drove Pakistanis who had come to work as construction workers. Not so long ago, skyscrapers in China were erected by semi-poor peasants, but now there are no people willing to work hard for $ 200 a month.

Parents who have come to visit their children, students of Wuhan University, sleep on mats laid out on the floor of the gym. The Chinese are picky people. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

“94% of the gigantic population of China lives on only half of its territory! - claims Doctor of History Zong Qinping. - The other half is actually uninhabited. And when you listen to some Russian politicians, you get the impression that the Chinese are standing on top of each other, as if in a crowded bus at rush hour. It is not true. For example, in the province of Heilongjiang, which borders Russia, people do not even pay for heating in winter - in this way the government is trying in vain to curb the outflow of residents leaving south for cities with a warm climate and good wages. The opinion that the Chinese seek to "colonize" Siberia with its eternal frosts and harsh conditions is a myth. For 25 years, the number of Chinese citizens in Russia has remained unchanged (about 250 thousand people), and recently it has begun to decline altogether. Talk about a hundred million Chinese who will soon populate the Far East is ordinary cheap horror stories.

Easier to swallow Africa

Indeed, if you pay attention to migration within the republic, the inhabitants of the PRC are mainly interested in warm regions. But expansion outside of China (except Russia) is hard to deny. Let's say the number of Chinese workers in Tajikistan has reached 100 thousand, they were allowed to transport family members. Also, tens of thousands of Chinese farmers moved to Kyrgyzstan, growing vegetables and fruits. Peasants from China generally migrate illegally to Myanmar, and entire villages of illegal immigrants have sprung up in the north of the country. Anxious? Yes. However, if you think in this vein, China should have swallowed Mongolia long ago - there are only 3 million people and a population density of less than two people per square kilometer. Nevertheless, immigrants from the Middle Kingdom in Mongolia are sparse. Why? The reason is the same - infertile soil and winter frosts below minus 30. On the other hand, 500 thousand Chinese moved to Africa, and the PRC government leased 3 million (!) Hectares of land on this continent. Trade with China accounts for 70% of the exports and imports of many African countries like Ethiopia or Sudan. The Chinese "tie" the countries they need economically in order to gain access to natural resources - be it rice fields, diamond mines or oil fields. “The Chinese Foreign Ministry is issuing recommendations on how an ordinary peasant can move to agricultural work in Africa,” admits Harbin businessman Chen Lao. “It says: this is our granary, a source of food, when the land of the Celestial Empire stops producing rice.” The border regions of Russia in this sense are not yet considered in China, although ... the key word in this case is “yet”?

“Open publications in the pre-revolutionary newspapers of the Russian Empire and you will see the same thing - the headlines “Shadow of the Yellow Monster”, “Yellow Threat” and “Yellow Danger”, - he is indignant Liang Feng(he asks to call himself Fedya. - Auth.), who studied Russian in 1995-1997. Petersburg, and now the owner of a hotel in Harbin. - A big neighbor with a huge territory is not loved and is always afraid. You are familiar with this - after all, the West has exactly the same attitude towards Russia. No matter how good and nice you try to be for Europe and the United States, you are accused of God knows of something in a conspiracy to put president Trump, then in plans to capture the EU. No one in Russia cares that over a hundred years of panic around the "yellow monster" the total number of Chinese in your country has not increased. As for the issue of illegal hotels on Baikal, yes, it's a mess. I was in Listvyanka - there are hundreds of private hotels, and at best 10% of them have licenses. Their owners are Russian citizens, not Chinese. I admit that businessmen from the PRC behave ugly on Baikal, but why is cheating with taxes called “turning into a Chinese province”? Let the police in Listvyanka do their job, then the “Chinese problem” will disappear by itself.”

"We have fools"

So what, I wonder, will happen next? Of those Chinese former guest workers with whom I spoke in Heilongjiang province, no one plans to return to Russia in the near future. “Clients stopped coming to my hairdressing salon in Vladivostok, and even the ruble fell,” he shrugged his hands. Wang Zhou(Of course, he introduces himself as Vanya. - Auth.). - I have plans to move to Shenzhen, not far from Hong Kong - there in winter the temperature is plus 20 and they pay good money. Sorry, I'm not going to see you again." I ask “Vanya” how he feels about the opinion: they say, China will swallow Siberia, he waves his hand: “We have a handful of fools, on Internet forums they are discussing - oh, the Far East is historically Chinese land. But Russia is not Myanmar, even the most outspoken idiot would not risk getting involved with a strong country with nuclear weapons.”

A Chinese married couple, a man and a woman with a boy of five years old, walks past me, talking animatedly, carrying a newborn girl in a stroller. Since January 1, 2016, the PRC government's ban on having more than one child in a family has been lifted, and many have already taken advantage of this. Let the myth about the Chinese settlement of the Far East remain more of a scarecrow than a reality, but in the future the situation may change: after all, anything happens. The best option here is to prevent the outflow of people from Primorye and Siberia, to make their life worthy, so that they calmly give birth to children and do not think about leaving. And Chinese businessmen on Baikal must be forced to comply with the laws of the Russian Federation - I hope the local police will take up their direct duties. Then the fantasies about the "yellow threat" will become less.