China seems to be perfectly accommodating to the intervention of Russian forces in Kazakhstan, after the request of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who has been confronted since January 2 with a massive popular protest movement. Monday, January 10, during a telephone conversation with his Kazakh counterpart, President Xi Jinping gave him unambiguous support: “You took decisive and strong actions at the critical moment, quickly calming the situation, which showed your responsibility and commitment as a statesman and your highly responsible attitude towards the country and its citizens », said the Chinese number one, according to the official account.
Xi Jinping endorsed the thesis of the Kazakh and Russian leaders according to which the demonstrators who, at the beginning of January, attacked power were fomenting a “color revolution”, implied were manipulated by the West. For Xi Jinping, China “strongly opposes all forces that undermine the stability of Kazakhstan”. As Russian soldiers are tasked with restoring order and ” stability “, that they intervene at the request of the power in place and that their presence in the country is in principle only temporary, China does not seem to have any problem with their presence in Kazakhstan.
To criticize it would also be to alienate Moscow and Noursultan (ex-Astana), but also the other countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, which includes, in addition to Russia and Kazakhstan, the Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan), official framework of this international military intervention. On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, also spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and announced to him that China supported the intervention of the CSTO “against violent terrorist forces”, according to the Chinese daily Global Times.
Need of the Kazakh regime
For Beijing, Kazakhstan is an important link in its international investment program. It was in the capital of this Central Asian country that Xi Jinping first mentioned his “silk roads” project. Beijing also needs the support, at least implicit, of the Kazakh regime for its repressive policy towards Muslims (Uighurs) in Xinjiang. Many of them are, in fact, of Kazakh origin and have family in this country of 18 million inhabitants.
Kazakhstan has, in recent years, always tried to make the most of its proximity to its two large neighbours. If China plays an important role in its economic development and Russia a major role in its military security, the former Soviet republic also buys weapons from Beijing and takes care not to be too dependent on the “silk roads”. . As long as Russia and China maintain good relations, which they undoubtedly do at the moment, each of the three countries will benefit from it.
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