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  • Kyrgyz military to escort Chinese nationals to Osh airport

    Kyrgyz military to escort Chinese nationals to Osh airport

    Kyrgyz military to escort Chinese nationals to Osh airport - GlobalTimes

    * Source: Xinhua
    * [22:16 June 14 2010]
    * Comments

    The Kyrgyz troops are ready to escort Chinese citizens to the airport in the country's southern city of Osh, said a Chinese official on Monday.

    Liu Hong, deputy Chinese military attache with China's embassy in Kyrgyzstan, said in an interview with Xinhua that the military will use armored vehicles to escort Chinese citizens to Osh airport.

    Yang Caiping, director of Chinese business association in southern Kyrgyzstan told Xinhua in a telephone conversation that about 500 Chinese nationals in Osh and Karasuu are planning to go home.

    Chinese nationals in Osh will fly back to China on Monday and those in Karasuu will return home later, Yang added.

    China on Monday dispatched a chartered plane to bring home Chinese nationals in Kyrgyzstan. The chartered plane left Urumqi, capital of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Monday evening and is expected to back at night, diplomatic resources said.

    The violence in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad began last Thursday and escalated over the weekend, with the death toll rising to 124 and thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring Uzbekistan.

    The interim government declared a curfew and an emergency state on early June 11 in the Osh region.

    The Russian government declined a request by the interim regime to quell the unrest, but it sent a battalion of paratroopers Sunday to protect the facilities at a military base in northern Kyrgyzstan.
    “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

  • #2
    Kyrgyzstan crisis a threat to China's influence

    By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN (AP) – 24 minutes ago

    BEIJING — Bustling trade between China and Kyrgyzstan has slowed to a trickle since deadly violence broke out in Kyrgyzstan, and experts say the crisis could diminish Beijing's economic clout in the country while bolstering rival Russia's already dominant influence.

    Most days, as many as 200 trucks loaded with televisions, apples, T-shirts and other Chinese goods enter Kyrgyzstan at the Yi'erkeshitan Pass. On Thursday, however, no trucks and just four people crossed at the pass high in the Tianshan mountains in far western China's Xinjiang region, according to an official with the border crossing administration.

    "The entry is still open, but what happened in Kyrgyzstan really had an impact on the flow of people and trade across the border," said the man, who like many Chinese bureaucrats would give only his surname, Wang.

    Hundreds and maybe thousands have died in rampages led mainly by ethnic Kyrgyz against Uzbeks in the country's south.

    Before the violence, China had sought to exert primarily economic influence on its neighbors to the west, in what has been called a 21st century iteration of the "Great Game" — Russia and Britain's fight for power in Central Asia more than 100 years ago.

    Rather than cavalry troopers and spies, however, China has deployed intrepid traders who have established a thriving commerce in everything from fruit to car parts, electronics to textiles.

    While Russia and the U.S. traded barbs about the presence of the others' troops in the country, China's professed noninterference paid great dividends: Bilateral trade jumped to $9.3 billion in 2008, according to Beijing's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, up from just a few hundred million dollars at the start of the decade.

    But now, Beijing finds itself shut out of the primarily political and military solutions being offered by the Russia and the U.S.

    The chaos is threatening trade with China, even while it provides an opportunity for rival Russia to reinforce its presence at a military base in the country's north and help lead efforts to end the ethnic violence and alleviate a worsening refugee crisis.

    Working through the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization, Moscow is also providing aid to Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies, including helicopters, military vehicles and fuel.

    Also stepping in is the United States, whose forces operate a crucial air base at the northern town of Manas. The U.S. is flying in relief supplies and working with Russia at the U.N. on a plan to help the refugees — a rare convergence of interests between Moscow and Washington.

    China's involvement in the crisis has thus far been limited to offering 5 million yuan ($732,000) worth of medicine, medical equipment, food, drinking water, blankets, and tents, while flying out almost 1,300 Chinese nationals from the battle-scarred city of Osh.

    "The Chinese will suffer a direct decline of influence in the country in the short term, much due to the military presence of Russia," said Niklas Swanstrom, an expert on China and Central Asia at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

    "Depending on how Russia plays its cards, there is a risk that Russia will consolidate its political and military presence," Swanstrom said.

    Kyrgyzstan still remains heavily dependent on Russia for aid, energy and other key supplies, though Chinese products now account for much of Kyrgyzstan's non-energy imports.

    Also in jeopardy could be a railway line that would connect China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, unlocking energy and mineral resources and cutting transit time to European markets. Prolonged instability could push back construction indefinitely. China's Railways Ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the line sent by fax as requested.

    While hopeful that Russia can help stabilize the situation in Kyrgyzstan, Beijing is also warily watching how Moscow and Washington might use it to their advantage, Chinese Central Asia expert Sun Zhuangzhi wrote in Friday's Global Times, a newspaper published by the ruling Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily.

    "It would be unfavorable and unacceptable to China if Russia and the U.S. were to exchange strategic interests amid the crisis and in the process involve some of China's interests in Kyrgyzstan in that swap," Sun wrote.

    Associated Press researcher Yu Bing contributed to this story in Beijing.
    The Associated Press: Kyrgyzstan crisis a threat to China's influence
    “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

    Comment


    • #3
      Kyrgyzstan crisis a threat to China's influence

      By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN (AP) – 24 minutes ago
      The logic in this article is a little faulty. First, China's influence stems from its trade with Kyrgyzstan, which is stymied by Kyrgyz political instability. Russia moves in to help the Kyrgyz government restore stability, but the conclusion is that this "hurts" Chinese influence? It seems like the premise here undermines the conclusion...

      Second, Russia's "dominant position" has been consolidated in this crisis, meaning Russia's special influence in the region has existed long before the crisis (as did its military presence by the way). Did they use that political/military dominance to stymie Sino-Kyrgyz trade? Apparently not according to the author... and even if they want to, how will they do so in the future? Use force to stop trade?

      Chinese influence in Central Asia stems from the fact that it has not been playing a zero-sum game. It has not tried to overthrow/intimidate Central Asian governments to get its way, nor does it seek exclusive relationships that shut out other powers. This is precisely why no one (including the Central Asians themselves) has done much to contain advancing Chinese influence in this region.
      Last edited by mister unknown; 19 Jun 10,, 05:30.

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