Quote:
Originally Posted by blankall
China has been quite clear that they see the surrounding Asian territory as within their sphere of influence. They are in a massive expansionist phase, and their game plan is pretty simple, involving economic development.
If you go back to the 1800s and 1900s Russia and China were actively fighting over Siberia. China was pushed out of Siberia by a combined effort of Russia, the UK, France, the US, and Japan, through a series of treaties that China now refers to as the "Unequal Treaties". Even Mongolia was a part of China until they achieved independence solely via Soviet assistance.
With Russia unlikely to have the population to hold onto Siberia long term, many people are speculating that China will move in....first economically, then with its people, then politically.
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What is their game plan?
At one moment I can be reading about how China's economy is going to implode because of an aging population and lack of working age people, and then I read how China is going to take over a region with a supposedly more severe problem of aging population as an economic benefit, when they have a good trading relationship and access to resources via trade anyways.
There's definitely a history of conflict there, and China has its own interests to take care of, but in terms of China making a play to take over Siberia or anything else east of the Urals I'm just seeing fringe speculation.
I can tell you I don't think I've ever heard anyone talking like that in China, and I've lived in the north near Siberia. I haven't read anything from the government or media that suggests this either. It's not how modern Chinese people look at Russia or Siberia in anything I've been exposed to, and while my knowledge can't be comprehensive I do read policy papers and strategy documents from China.