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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 28, 2003

Russian Media Play up the Tune of China's Port-renting

Recently along with the dying down of the Iraqi War the Russian media turn to play up the tune of "China's port-renting event". The so-called "port-renting event" is actually a very simple case.


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Recently along with the dying down of the Iraqi War the Russian media turn to play up the tune of "China's port-renting event". The so-called "port-renting event" is actually a very simple case.

At a council meeting on economic affairs between the Chinese and Russian governments held not long ago, China raised formally its request for renting the two ports in Russia's Far East region. The two ports are known respectively as Port Zarubino and Port Posyet that are not far from China's Heilongjiang Province and adjacent to the outlet of the Tumen River.

For the moment, the talks on the investment project is still underway but the Russian media say that the Russian Ministry of Communications has already expressed its objection to China's investment plan and the coalmine enterprises in Russia are not willing to see China's renting the ports.

China is intended to rent for Port Zarubino
There are two Russian ports, one of which is called Port Zarubino and another Port Posyet that are very close to China's exports-processing area at Hunchun. The former lies some 71 kilometers away from the Changlingzi Port of Hunchun while the latter only about 43 kilometers away.

China has in recent years contacted Russia about the renting of the port and made "a feasibility study on the project of linking up the railway from Tumen - Hunchun - Changlingzi to Russian PortZarubino and on the renting, and making a transformation, of the port". If Russian side agrees to it China is prepared to rent Port Zarubino or Port Posyet for 49 years. After renting the port China will make a great investment by laying an infrastructure for the port, making its loading and unloading capacity to expand some 10 to 15 times as against the present capacity so as to form a more convenient and easier international seaward waterway. The Chinese side intends to build a new railway leading from Kameishaowaya railway station directly to the port by crossing over the Khasan Railway. In the middle of last March China raised a suggestion about the renting of the port in Russia's Far East region at the council meeting between Chinese and Russian governments, but so far China hasn't made any suggestion about it to the Russian Port Holding Company owning the ports.

Why is Russia in objection to China's renting the port?
April 2, Russian vice minister of the Ministry of Communications expressed at a press conference by saying that "The two ports Zarubino and Posyet must be put under the management of Russian Port Administration. Russian Ministry of Communications firmly advocates retaining the power of influence over the ports in the Far East and in the meanwhile ensuring all the exporting Chinese goods to be loaded and unloaded in the ports". That is to say, Russian Ministry of Communications is opposing to the renting by China of the Russian Ports. Why is Russia so sensitive to the business behavior between China and Russia?

Politically speaking, though Sino-Russian borderline in the east has "for the first time been correctly marked out" yet due to some reasons in history some Russians are still very sensitive about the territorial problems in the Far East. Therefore, once the news of China's intention to rent the port for a long time is spread out it has immediately touched the sensitive nerves of those Russians. A Russian newspaper published on April 3 holds that the renting of the port has things to do with the "territorial integrity". Actually, the renting of the port by China has no military consideration at all but for the regional economic development and foreign trade, and China has no intention at all to profit at Russia's expense let alone to say anything about the threat on Russia's "territorial integrity".

Economically speaking, Russia at the very beginning had no interest about the exploitation of the lower reaches of the Tumen River, holding that the plan could only be good for China and Korea and might exert influence on Russia's economy in the Far East. It was only after 1995 that Russia made an alteration of its attitude, opening up one after another ports of Haishenwai (Chinese name for Vladivostok), Nakhodka��Zarubino��Posyet. Aug.23, 2002 when Russian president Vladimir Putin met Kim Jung-il of the DPRK at Haishenwai and made an inspection on the ports Zarubino and Posyet he required the local authority to adopt measures as quick as possible for expanding the loading and unloading capacity of the ports so as to transit the Chinese goods. This indicates that the central government of Russia had no intention to let the ports to China. The foreign media are of the opinion that the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and the degradation of the Russian comprehensive national strength have rendered the Russian elite stratum to feel some pressures. It is due to the above worries that the relationship between China and Russia can only be developed in certain political realm in which the interests of both parties have something in common but it has lagged far behind in the economic field.

Besides, the "fallacy of China threat" has always been a market in Russia's Far East. Once there is any chance some persons will engage in peddling such fallacies as "China is conducting a quiet expansion of population and economy in the Far East," etc. In their eyes, the business behavior between Russia and China has become something political. At the end of last year, Russian media, by using the participation of China Petroleum Corporation in the bidding for "Slav Oil" stocks, struck up the "fallacy of China threat". Now they are ready to make much about China's renting the port. In such an atmosphere it is very difficult for the two countries to carry out the trade cooperation on a large scale in the bordering areas.

By People's Daily Online


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