Oriental Studies (Sep 2023)
Russia, Mongolia, China: Historical Projections of Interaction between the Nations
Abstract
Introduction. The Russia-Mongolia-China Economic Corridor (RCM) is an important regional initiative aimed at expanding ties and developing economic cooperation in Northeast Asia. Insights into historical contexts of the corridor are essential for understanding its current dynamics and future prospects. Goals. The article attempts a comprehensive analysis of historical aspects related to the Russia-China-Mongolia Economic Corridor, with due account of historical projections, geopolitical factors, and historical trade routes that had shaped economic relations between the nations. The paper shall focus on the mentioned aspects to shed light on the long-standing historical ties that do facilitate the present-day emergence and development of the corridor. Materials and methods. The study employs a variety of sources, such as intergovernmental agreements, statistical digests, eyewitness accounts of the past, official reports, and speeches of top-ranking officials. The analytical tools that secure a systematic research approach include as follows: a retrospective analysis method, comparative historical and typological ones, that of systemic analysis. Results. Insights into actual statistical data yield an analytical description of the current situation in cross-border cargo flows (the Russia-Mongolia-China section), including some possibilities of transport infrastructure, and particularly those of the Ulaanbaatar Railway. Special attention is paid to challenges and risks arising from some projects of the economic corridor. Conclusions. The historical projections of trans-Eurasian trade routes — whether caravan tracks of the past or present-day infrastructure projects — attest to that communities of both the East and the West do need and show interest in such interaction. Russia and China’s imperial environments are characterized by specific dynamic and rhythmic patterns of trade and cultural communication that used to (and still do) shape somewhat unique geography of the routes. The famous Tea Road integrated a large number of cities in Russia and China. The opening of China, its industrialization and capitalization paved the way to its development and inclusion into global markets. These were followed by its transformation into a modern world power. Historical insights may yield better understandings of past successes and declines. One should also keep it in mind that the present historical legacy as such largely rests on the pillars of enormous political transformations witnessed by the twentieth century when the specific geopolitical agenda tied Mongolia to the Soviet Union with dozens (and hundreds) of strong links. Russia’s turn to the East and its strategic alliance with China are to give further impulses to trans-regional and trans-continental projects.
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