3 Politicians That Have Helped Create Positive Sino-Relations for their Nations

3 Politicians That Have Helped Create Positive Sino-Relations for their Nations
Sep 22, 2014 By Susan Martin , eChinacities.com

With China’s explosive growth, many nations have shown apprehension over its development, both politically and economically. In a hostile global environment like this, it is important for China to retain its allies. This article will look at its relationship with Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin and  Kevin Rudd, the importance of these relationships, and what it means for short term future co-operation with their respective countries.

3 Politicians That Have Helped Create Positive Sino-Relations for their Nations
Photo: Petersnoopy

1) North Korea: Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un, born in 1983, followed his father Kim Jong-il to become the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in December 2011. Historically, Kim Jong-un himself is hard to separate from North Korea, as he has taken over from his father and grandfather’s strong personality cults that encompass the entirety of life in North Korea, including public and private spheres.

China and North Korea have been extremely close, and their border has been peaceful.  In the past, China would send any North Korean refugees that it finds within its borders back to North Korea, and a lot of aid has been sent that way too since the start of the Korean War. In addition to aid, China is also its main trading partner, for metals and metallurgical products.

What it means for China

At the moment, we can see a change in relations between the two that some analysts have attributed to the nuclear weapon testing in February 2013. Not only is the Chinese government relatively unsatisfied with North Korea- as well as disputes over weapons, there are issues concerning refugees, since China began opting to send them to South Korea in a move that North Korea would no doubt view as highly treacherous.

As of yet, Kim Jong-un has not yet been on an official visit to China, signalling a drastic change between his and previous administrations’ relationship with its large neighbour. Not only the government, but also Chinese netizens are apparently dissolutioned with North Korea as they made this video that went viral – of Kim Jong-un dancing to the popular Chinese song Xiao Pingguo.

2) Australia: Kevin Rudd
Australian ex-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has had a long relationship with China. As early as 2004, when he was Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs, he delivered a speech on Australia and China and the importance of positive relations between the two, if only for their geographical locations. He is one of the few Commonwealth politicians to speak fluent Chinese, and has made good relations with Asia one of his major “pillars” of foreign policy aimed towards the region. This is especially important due to the iron ore market – the main exports from Australia to China. The Australian operations at Fortescue Metals Group, Rio Tinto, BHP Biliton and Xstrata are heavily reliant on continuing Chinese expansion.

Kevin Rudd was held in such high esteem by the Chinese government officials that when he briefly returned to the post in Prime Minister in 2013, the Chinese government sent him official congratulations. This was surprising, following the earlier arrest in China of the Australian mining executive Stern Hu who was accused of corruption and spying, which caused a massive rift between the two nations.

What it means for China

The two nations have had diplomatic relations since December 1972, and their relationship has grown to the point that China is Australia’s main trading partner: these exports to China have helped Australia avoid a major meltdown like the European nations and America during the global crisis. In return, the Australian iron ore supplies are fuelling China’s huge construction boom.

From a Chinese perspective, maintaining positive relations with Australia is extremely important, if only to keep an ally inside the commonwealth. Even though Kevin Rudd is no longer the Australian Prime Minister, relations between the two are still positive.  The relationship goes both ways, as Australia has for a very long time been a popular migration destination for Chinese migrants, and a lot of Chinese students attend university in Australia.

3) Russia: Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin has been the President of Russia since 2012, but was also president between 2000 and 2008, and Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000, and 2008 to 2012. This is a lot of power, and throughout this entire time he sought to strengthen relations between China and Russia.

Putin and Russia have had a long history with China. Following the Cold War, the two quickly realised that they actually had a lot in common, and have been cooperating in the energy sector since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. In 1993, China first became a petroleum importer, eventually becoming the world’s second-largest oil consuming country in 2011, and the largest energy consumer in 2010.

What it means for China
With both nations’ relations with the West having soured for a while, Putin and Xi Jinping have become increasingly close. Following the MH17 plane disaster, Putin has found himself with no allies, and went to Shanghai to visit Xi to further expand on Sino-Russian relations.

For China’s future, this means a strong ally but also potentially alienating European nations and America further. In fact, the Diplomat writes that “a patriotic public infatuated with Putin may force their own government to take a harder line against the West”. A Chinese blog concluded following an online survey that the majority of Chinese netizens preferred Putin over Obama.

The eventual fear, however, is that by becoming close allies with Russia, China is alienating the West and will eventually suffer under the same sanctions as Russia. This would be a big blow to the biggest producer in the world, as China’s suppliers are nothing without demand from the West.

Conclusion

To conclude, China is currently doing a juggling act between East and West and must be careful to balance its long established historical relationships without jeopardizing important ties with Europe and America. Relations with North Korea, for example, are always risky and will upset other nations; however, if North Korea keeps testing nuclear weapons, the future sustainability of this relationship will be uncertain, and could potentially leave North Korea without allies.

With regards to Russia, China also has to tread very carefully in risk of angering Europe and America; the two regions, which have just imposed extra sanctions on the nation provide most of the demand for China’s goods. Meanwhile, with the Chinese  dependence on Australian iron ore imports and its long standing diplomatic ties, Australia remains a vital ally, although the relationship has always been more solid than with other Western countries.

In the current situation, as relations sour and the historical gulf between East and West widens, the question remains, how long can China stand in the middle?  Will China eventually be forced to prioritize one alliance at the risk of damaging others, and if so, will historical and ideological ties win out over new, economic ones? At this stage, we can only watch and wait.

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Keywords: China and north korea sino-relations

2 Comments

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coineineagh

sending refugees back to North Korea is a death sentence. sickening how it's calmly glossed over as they move to the important issue: "what it means for China."

Sep 22, 2014 12:18 Report Abuse

Burak43

Nationalism in practice.

Sep 22, 2014 16:38 Report Abuse