Announcing President Yanukovych’s state visit to China, scheduled for September 2-5, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Kostiantyn Hryshchenko said that “the Chinese party is preparing for this visit as for an exceptional event, and not only in terms of protocol, but also in terms of its significant content.”
What do the phrases “significant content” and “unprecedented potential for developing bilateral relations,” mentioned by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at the meeting with Hryshchenko in Beijing, mean? You can find the answer in The Day’s interview with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the People’s Republic of China, Yurii KOSTENKO.
A CLEAR SIGNAL FOR CHINESE PARTNERS
Mr. Kostenko, what hopes does Ukraine pin on this visit to China, the second one in the history of our diplomatic relations?
“The first achievement of President Viktor Yanukovych’s official visit to the PRC will consist in a positive and clear signal both for our Chinese partners and the entire world to say that our country perceives China as an influential factor in international policy, an example of successful and dynamic development, as a strategic partner, and a friendly nation. The joint communique on the comprehensive development of Ukraine-China relations, friendship, and cooperation, as well as the document on the principal guidelines of mutual relations in the nearest future, which will be signed in Beijing, will contain the PRC’s confirmation of the guarantees of non-use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine granted in the early 1990s.
“These important political documents will contain the basic principles of our interaction in the international arena. In particular, they refer to the defense of state sovereignty and territorial integrity, war on terrorism and organized transnational crime, prevention of the spreading materials and technologies related to the production of weapons of mass destruction and means of their delivery.
“It is important that the visit of the head of Ukraine to the PRC implements those foreign policy changes which took place in past six months. The new leadership has made relations with China a foreign policy priority, and considers Ukraine-China cooperation to be crucial for the successful modernization of our national economy. It is also important that deeds follow words.
“As for the economic constituent of the president’s visit, it will be substantial and massive. Apart from signing a number of agreements, there will also be business forums for the representatives of leading Ukrainian and Chinese companies and enterprises.”
Is Ukraine hoping to get loans from China? The previous government is known to have voiced such hopes, but they never got any...
“Yes, we count on loans from China. The loan portfolio which has been created by the parties is worth almost eight billion US dollars as of today. In certain aspects, negotiations have been going on for years. China is prepared to make significant investments in Ukraine, albeit under certain conditions. The main condition is the guarantee of political and hence, economic stability.
Beijing has trouble understanding the recent developments in Ukraine — the government was prepared to grant state guarantees to a socially significant project which had been developed by Ukrainian and Chinese partners for months and was then terminated by another branch of power. As a result, loans and investments in all directions froze for nearly six months.”
THE PARTIES HAVE A GREAT INTEREST IN COOPERATION
What can Kyiv offer Bejing in order to both increase Ukrainian exports to China, and attract Chinese investments and know-how to Ukraine?
“The recent meetings of the bilateral commissions on science, technologies, and cooperation in the military and technical spheres, as well as those of the working group dealing with agricultural matters, show that the parties have a considerable interest in cooperation, especially in the spheres of new technologies.
“A lot of projects are being implemented now. Yet, and this is the main thing, Ukraine offers its partners a lot of new large-scale themes for development in many spheres, from infrastructure and mining mineral resources to the most up-to-date technologies. And it is not only a matter of increasing Ukrainian exports to China (by the way, last year these grew 2.6 times), but also a matter of creating joint ventures, machinery parks, etc. But again, in order to see results and to transform the plans into real projects, we need persistent, methodical work both in Kyiv and Bejing, and the rigorous observance of the parties’ obligations.”
Is China interested in cooperating with Ukraine in the sphere of investments?
“Nowadays, due to a successful development of the economy (in spite of the financial crisis), the PRC has accumulated colossal investment capital, which the Chinese government plans to inject into the international financial markets. It is common knowledge that when monies do not circulate, economic development slows down. So, Chinese investments in Ukraine are a profitable business, and provide access to new, West European markets.
“In regards to the attractiveness of Chinese know-how, I’d like to present an example. Starting with 2005, one of the world’s leading companies in the field, Huawei, has been successfully working on the Ukrainian market for TV and communications. Nearly 300 employees are working at its Kyiv office, 80 percent of them being Ukrainians. In 2008, the company contributed nearly 60 million hryvnias to our state budget and social funds, while during the crisis year of 2009, the volume of exported telecommunication equipment to Ukraine exceeded 100 million US dollars. According to my data, our Chinese colleagues are prepared to develop their business in this country, and they are waiting for adequate offers from their partners.”
Is Ukraine interested in investing in China’s western regions? As we know, the Chinese authorities proposed this to our country.
“The Chinese authorities today also offer other countries to actively engage in the development of the western provinces of the PRC. As far back as in 1999, China’s top leadership announced a large-scale program, which was to start intensive exploration of those regions, aspiring to overcome the disproportion of social and economic development, increase the rates of economic growth in the region’s provinces, raise the population’s living standards, ensure social stability, etc. But do we have the potential to invest in those regions of China? To my mind, this remains to be seen.”
Won’t Yanukovych’s visit repeat the situation after Kuchma’s visit to China in the fall of 2002? Back then there was no hype about it in the media, and when Jianming Jiabao placed a note on it “after some information on a banquet, on the occasion of establishing good relations between China and Luxembourg.”
“It is hard for me to comment on events which took place in 2002. I was the head of our diplomatic office in Tokyo back then. I can only guarantee that this situation will never repeat itself. In order to make the Ukrainian president’s oncoming visit to the PRC a grab headlines both in China and abroad, the Embassy suggested exclusive interviews by Yanukovych for Jiangming Jiabao and the agency Shinhwa. The paper’s daily circulation is three million copies, while the agency is the most influential and powerful information corporation in the PRC, connecting hundreds of millions of users via its Internet portals.
“Besides, we are planning extensive coverage of the president’s stay in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. In particular, it is arranged with the International Radio of China that the materials be broadcast in 61 languages.”
Does Ukraine’s non-alignment status adopted in early July, after passing the bill on the principles of domestic and foreign affairs, affect our mutual relations? Could Ukraine’s intention to join the NATO damage the development of those relations? This has often been emphasized by certain experts.
“Yes, it does, and I’ll explain why. The Chinese foreign policy is based on five principles of peaceful coexistence (the mutual respect for the state sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference into each other’s domestic affairs, equality and mutual benefit, as well as peaceful coexistence).
“China declared that it would never enter any military alliances with individual states or a group of states. After the Chinese reckoning, the present tendencies towards globalization, and a steady progress towards a multi-polar world, create favorable conditions for this.
“At the same time, Chinese analysts say that the cold war mentality is still present, alongside hegemonism and power policy. According to the Chinese, its most dangerous manifestation is the expansion of military blocks, the growing gap between developed and developing countries, interferences into other countries’ domestic affairs, as well as the existence of local conflicts.
“Thus we may conclude that our aspiration for NATO membership, with the lack of a proper support from the Ukrainian population, could not find understanding in the PRC since it didn’t meet the abovementioned postulates.
“At the same time, we must remember that the political leadership of the PRC traditionally emphasizes that it will respect any choice made by the Ukrainian people, in particular, concerning the choice of guidelines for social and economic development and in its international policy. By the by, I heard the Chinese leader Hu Jintao say this on Sept. 4, 2009, as I was presenting my credentials as the ambassador of Ukraine to China.
“Thus we can see that although our ambition for NATO membership did not prevent Ukraine from having a fruitful bilateral cooperation with China, the present-day authentic non-bloc status of Ukraine better conforms with Beijing’s international political guidelines.”
THE TRIANGLE BEIJING – MOSCOW – KYIV
You noted in one of your interviews that good Russia-Ukraine relations would facilitate the improvement of China-Ukraine relations. Does Kyiv have to be hostage to the interests of a third party? Is it possible (and if so, in what way) that Ukraine-China relations will be affected by a recent cold snap between Beijing and Washington, D.C., which became even more intense after Hillary Clinton’s recent declaration made in Vietnam to the effect that territorial conflicts should be settled diplomatically?
“Any nation’s bilateral relations are affected by third, fifth, or even tenth parties, especially now in the times of globalization of international relations. While taking an important decision in the foreign policy, the country’s leadership has to consider all positive and negative implications. First and foremost it is true when it comes to relationships between the principal players in the international arena, and neighboring countries.
“According to Yang Jiechi, the current China-Russia relations of strategic partnership are mature and stable, a model of interaction between two leading world players. One should also bear in mind that China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is responsible for peace and stability worldwide, Eastern Europe included. I think it is for this reason that Beijing welcomed the warming up of Ukraine-Russia relations. Isn’t there an Oriental saying, ‘my friend’s friend is my friend?’
“In my opinion, it is an exaggeration to say that the relations between Beijing and Washington, D.C. have deteriorated due to the recent statement made by Hillary Clinton in Vietnam. Today, China aspires to preserve the positive development of its constructive dialog with the US in every possible way. There have been instances when bilateral relations were strained. For instance, in early 2010, after the Obama administration passed a decision to sell 6.4 million US dollars worth of arms to Taiwan. Certain statements made by political leaders have to be analyzed and taken into consideration while setting parameters for international political actions. That’s exactly how Ukrainian diplomats do it.
“It is worth mentioning the recent words of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Hryshchenko. In his article on the agenda of Ukrainian international policy he said, ‘I see the main guarantee of Ukraine’s safety in the pragmatic, well-balanced, and adequate policy of partnership in all directions.’ I do not think that while pursuing a partnership policy of this kind, one would become hostage to any party.”
What is your opinion regarding China’s role in the world of the future. Do you see it as the USA’s opponent or partner, or just one of the poles — Chinese leaders tend to deny the Celestial Empire’s desire to become a superpower? It is about to become the world’s second biggest economy, and will one day even eclipse the US.
“Nowadays, China prefers to identify itself not only as an influential regional player, but also as a global economic and political force. Of course, even today China is one of the poles of the modern world. Just like with other poles (the US, EU, Russia), China sometimes is America’s partner, and at other times, its opponent.
“Officially Beijing shares the idea of joint Chinese-American responsibility for the situation in the world, expressed in Washington, D.C. The two countries continue to interact and coordinate their actions (both on a bilateral level, via the mechanism of strategic and economic dialog, and in a multilateral format) on regulating a wide range of urgent issues in international affairs. The most important are North Korea’s nuclear problem, regional security and stability in north-east and south-east Asia, the Iran problem, the situations in Sudan (Darfur) and Myanmar, war on international terrorism, participation in a joint effort for overcoming the financial crisis, etc.
“Apart from the already mentioned Taiwan problem, they are opponents in sensitive political issues such as human rights. A large block of trading and economic issues is also unsolved (the yuan-to-dollar rate, a considerable disproportion in bilateral trade, the protection of intellectual property in China, etc.).”
“UKRAINE IS PERCEIVED AS A RELIABLE FRIEND AND PARTNER...”
Could you please tell us how you like working in China? What do you think of the idiom It’s all Chinese to me now that you are there?
“It is extremely exciting to work in a country which is experiencing an economic upturn and high social stability. Beijing is home to one of our biggest embassies, capable of providing a dynamic development of bilateral relations. It is very good that with each year we see a growing interest in China and its unique culture in Ukraine.
“Nowadays, more than 700 Ukrainian students are studying in the PRC, and the Chinese language is being actively studied in Ukraine. There are Confucius institutes in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Luhansk, where both the language and culture of China are studied. I believe that several years later, the diplomatic service of Ukraine will be manned with highly qualified and talented Sinologists.
“Globalization has become part and parcel of modern China. In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Harbin, and many other mega-cities with five, ten, or twenty million residents, you sometimes wonder where you are, in Europe, the US, or China, as the infrastructure, buildings, parks, and people in the streets are all so similar. You can feel the national color only at a museum or on a sightseeing tour.
“On the whole, the phrase It’s all Chinese to me becomes meaningless in the Internet age. Modern technologies are bringing the Ukrainian and Chinese mentality close together.”
What struck you most on your diplomatic mission?
“During this past year, since I arrived in Beijing, two events have struck me most. The first was the parade in the main square of the Chinese capital, Tiananmen Square, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the PRC, on October 1, 2009. The second was the opening ceremony of the Expo-2010 in Shanghai, on April 30 this year. These were grandiose events, first of all due to their scale, the elated atmosphere, and the high level of organization.”
How is Ukraine perceived in China?
“Officials, including the top leadership, see Ukraine as a reliable friend and partner for the Chinese people. Beijing appreciates that our standpoints are virtually identical on all major international issues and on problems sensitive for China. This allows us to believe that after President Yanukovych’s official visit to the PRC, our friendly relations will develop into a strategic partnership.”
