Be wary of foreign interference, China warns Central Asia

In Kazakh capital, China’s defence minister says his country opposes ‘colour revolutions’
Call comes 3 months after protests over fuel price rises swept Kazakhstan

Central Asia

Teddy Ng

Published: 6:00pm, 26 Apr 2022

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Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe has urged Central Asia to be on alert for foreign interference, saying China will step up defence cooperation with Kazakhstan as part of a wider push for regional security.

Wei issued the call in a meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in the capital Nur-Sultan on Monday, three months after mass protests in the country.

“China firmly opposes external forces deliberately instigating a ‘colour revolution’ in Kazakhstan and backs the Kazakh side in taking strong measures to safeguard national security and social stability,” the Chinese defence ministry quoted Wei as saying.

Mass unrest triggered by fuel price rises swept through Kazakhstan in January. Tokayev said the protesters were “bandits” and gave shoot-to-kill orders to quell the unrest.

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Kazakhstan requested Russian forces to help restore order through a mechanism in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Moscow-led regional alliance.

At that time, China said it would help the Kazakh government to fight terrorism, separatism and religious extremism, and opposed any attempts by foreign forces to stir up trouble.

Tokayev thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of China, Uzbekistan and Turkey for their help.

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Wei called for “vigilance about certain major powers interfering in Central Asia to disrupt and undermine regional security”.

Kazakhstan, an oil-rich state long viewed as a bastion of stability in Central Asia, shares a 1,700km (1,060-mile) border with China, and economic ties between the two countries have been growing in recent years.

China is Kazakhstan’s second-largest trading partner, and its top export destination.

Total bilateral trade was US$22.94 billion in the first 11 months of 2021, according to data from Chinese customs, up 14.7 per cent from the previous year. China exported US$12.59 billion worth of goods to the country and imported US$10.35 billion dollars worth of products from Kazakhstan over the period. China invested US$19.2 billion in the country between 2005 and 2020.

In 2021, the China Railway Express running from China to Europe sent 15,000 container freight trains through Kazakhstan, up 22 per cent from a year earlier, and 1.46 million twenty-foot equivalent units, a 29 per cent increase from last year, according to China Railway.

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But China is constantly on alert to terrorist activity that could spill over from its neighbours, especially from Afghanistan and Central Asia, following a series of violent attacks in Xinjiang and other parts of China by Uygur extremists.

“China attaches significance to and firmly supports Kazakhstan, no matter what risks and challenges the two countries may encounter,” Wei said.

In a separate meeting, Wei and Kazakh Defence Minister Ruslan Zhaksylykov discussed the situation in Ukraine and Afghanistan, and agreed that the two militaries would continue to strengthen strategic communication, conduct joint drills and training.

Central Asia, long seen as a stronghold for Russia’s economic and political influence, appear to be unnerved by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and wary of endorsing Moscow’s action.

Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov said last month that military action and violence should be stopped, and that the Central Asian nation recognised Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.