Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to India, Bulat Sarsenbayev, believes that neither his country nor India should be overly concerned about the expansionist designs of China, but rather both should seek to maximize bilateral and economic contact with Beijing for the overall benefit of the peoples of the three nations.
In an interview given to ANI, Ambassador Sarsenbayev did not agree with the view that Astana and New Delhi are very concerned about growth and expansion of China economically and strategically.
He said:”China is neighbor of Kazakhstan; we have 1500 kilometers of border with China, which is quite long. We have historic relations between the Kazakh people and the Chinese people. The growth of activities in Asia, especially Central Asia, China, we consider it as recognition of importance of the Central Asian countries to the world.”
“We welcome Chinese activities in Kazakhstan because, this is done due to some bilateral agreements we signed with China. We agree on many issues, not only politically, but also in economic areas, and trade between Kazakhstan and China is growing tremendously. You know between 2003 and 2005, I was Consulate General of Kazakhstan in Hong Kong, and exactly at that time, many things started to grow. Every year, our turnover in trade grew dramatically from two million to five million to reach 12 billion,” he added.
Asked what would be his message to India with regard to China and its expansionist designs, Ambassador Sarsenbayev said: “You see you are also neighbors. I remember during one press conference many years ago, some foreign journalist asked my president about relations between Kazakhstan, China and Russia, and our president answered with a bit of humor, but actually it was a very correct answer. He said that ‘we have to live together, there is no other way, so have to find things that connect us, not separates us’.”
“We are a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which is created by Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and, I know that India which was observer has in recent times, expressed to become a full member. I think we have to cooperate, not be afraid of each other. Sometimes, we are too much suspicious about things, but in reality, it is just cooperation. Of course, China is a big country, it is a big growing economy, and of course, the influence of China will rise day after day. Kazakhstan should find how to benefit from it, and also India,” Ambassador Sarsenbayev said.
“We consider India is also a big country, a growing economy with a big population and a huge market. I believe India has its own ambitions in many other areas. That’s why we should find the ways of how to commonly solve international problems. We e have many challenges in the world and we should do it in a civil way – trying to find things to work together. All countries should be little bit ambitious. If there is no ambition, there will no movement. If you want something to change, something to do, you should be ambitious, but it should be ambitions based on some reality and not without any ground,” he added.
For the record Kazakhstan and China have had diplomatic relations with each other since January 3, 1992. Both nations have a boundary agreement since April 1994.
Leaders of China and Kazakhstan have frequently exchanged high-level official visits since 1993, and both nations became co-founders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 1996.
China and Kazakhstan have promoted a rapid expansion of commerce and partnership over economic development, especially in harnessing Kazakhstan’s oil, natural gas, minerals and other major energy resources.
Owing to rapidly expanding domestic energy needs, China has sought to obtain a leading role in cultivating and developing energy industries in Kazakhstan.
Since 2005, it has been actively and operationally engaged in Kazakhstan’s oil fields.
Strategically, both nations have always sought ways to bolster their partnership on regional security, economic development and fighting terrorism and drug trafficking in Central Asia.
In 1997, both nations signed an agreement to reduce the presence of military forces along their common borders with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Both countries are also actively engaged in cross-border water management initiatives.
Bilateral trade volume has grown from USD 30 million in 1992 to USD 8.73 billion in 2012.
Chinese businessmen have invested over USD 800 million in Kazakhstan (2012). As of 2012, over 40 Chinese companies and 670 joint ventures, including 615 – with participation of the Chinese capital, operating in spheres of oil and gas production, textile manufacturing, plastic and metal products.
During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Kazakhstan in 2013, the two nations then signed 22 trade and commercial deals valued at USD 30 billion, including a USD five billion deal that gave China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) a stake of 8.4 per cent in the Kashagan project. Both President Jinping and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev officially opened the first phase of the Kazakhstan-China natural gas pipeline.
Landlocked Kazakhstan’s growing cooperation with China aligns well with its economic objectives.
As far as India and China relations are concerned, irritants such as the border dispute notwithstanding, bilateral strategic and trade ties are looking up following President Jingping’s visit to New Delhi and Ahmedabad in September 2014.
Both countries inked 16 agreements during the September 17-18, 2014 visit, that saw leaderships agreeing to boost cooperation in commerce, trade, railways, information and broadcasting, culture and combating terrorism and extremism and trans-border crimes, creation of sister cities and cooperation in the maintenance of drug standards.
—ANI