During Putin’s visit to Beijing, he had extensive and intimate discussions with Xi Jinping and issued a joint statement between China and Russia. It seems that the circumstances have led Putin to compromise in order to secure continued support from China in areas such as politics, economy, and military, especially given Russia’s isolation on the global stage. The compromises include dialogues at the mouth of the Tumen River, joint development of Heixiazi Island, the opening of the Arctic passage, and the reaffirmation that a nuclear war is unwinnable. This may explain why Putin appeared rather stoic or even forced in his smiles in front of the cameras.
One major point of compromise for Putin was the issue concerning the mouth of the Tumen River, which may be related to the upcoming Third Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party in July. The third section of the Sino-Russian joint statement mentions, “(China and Russia) will engage in constructive dialogues with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the matter of Chinese ships passing through the downstream of the Tumen River to the sea.”
In the official discourse of the Chinese Communist Party, the mention of “constructive dialogue” in news reports indicates that both parties have made principled compromises on issues of contention, with the outcomes possibly falling short of their respective goals but still delivering acceptable solutions to unresolved issues.
It is well known that the northeast of China borders Russia and North Korea, with the Tumen River acting as the channel that leads to the Sea of Japan. The signing of the Aigun Treaty in 1858 stipulated that the region east of the Ussuri River, including Vladivostok, would be co-managed by China and Russia.
In 1860, the Beijing Treaty between China and Russia led to the cession of nearly 400,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory, including the Maritime region encompassing Vladivostok, to Russia. The Russian military occupied the important Chinese port of Vladivostok that same month, renaming it as “Vladivostok” which means “to control the east.” Vladivostok became a significant military stronghold for Russia in the Far East and a base for further expansion in the region.
Following World War II, as a victorious power, the Republic of China actively sought the recovery of Vladivostok among other territories. In August 1945, during the signing of the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, Chiang Kai-shek sent delegates to Stalin, proposing the restoration of sovereignty over Dalian, Vladivostok, and the Kuril Islands. Eventually, the two sides reached the Sino-Soviet Treaty, wherein the Soviet Union agreed for China to take back Dalian, Lushun, and the South Manchurian Railway (1946), with an agreement for China to recover Vladivostok 50 years later. The treaty also stipulated conditions for the presence of Chinese troops in Mongolia starting in 1950, allowing for conditional citizen voting within Mongolia. Ultimately, due to the failure to reclaim the Kuril Islands, Song Ziwen refused to sign the agreement, with Foreign Minister Wang Shijie signing instead.
It wasn’t until the 1980s that both China and Russia recognized the shared navigation rights of the Tumen River or the freedom to access the sea. It is based on this recognition that Jilin Province aimed to connect the ports of China, Russia, and North Korea through the mouth of the Tumen River to promote economic development and enhance economic cooperation in Northeast Asia. To this end, the Jilin Provincial Government invested heavily in improving the infrastructure of Hunchun City and its surrounding areas, negotiating with Russian counterparts multiple times. After more than three years of effort, the Russian border region of Primorsky Krai showed interest in cooperating with China to develop a port for maritime trade.
Just as negotiations were progressing smoothly and reaching a crucial decision-making stage, Jiang Zemin and Yeltsin secretly signed a humiliating “Descriptive Protocol on the Borders of China and Russia” in 1999. This protocol not only ceded valuable territories to Russia, equivalent to the combined areas of the three northeastern provinces and over a million square kilometers of Chinese land, but also granted half of Heixiazi Island and control of the mouth of the Tumen River to Russia, blocking China’s access to the Sea of Japan.
This setback dealt a severe blow to the negotiations on cooperation between China and Russia regarding the mouth of the Tumen River. It is said that even the Russian party involved in the negotiations was surprised by Jiang Zemin’s signing of such a protocol. This also meant that Jilin Province’s efforts for five years, along with extensive human, material, and financial resources invested in the “opening borders and connecting seas” strategy, came to naught. Land prices in Hunchun plummeted, many investors suffered heavy losses, and the once bustling city suddenly grew quiet overnight. Those privy to the situation criticized Jiang and the Chinese Communist Party for selling out the country.
Jiang’s signing of this treaty was likely motivated by his desire to conceal his history of working as a spy for Japan and the Soviet Union. In 1945, when the Soviet troops invaded Northeast China, they obtained the entire espionage system files of Japanese agent Hirohara Kenji, which included information and photos of Jiang Zemin’s training in youth espionage programs. Subsequently, during Jiang’s studies in the Soviet Union, the Soviet intelligence department examined Jiang’s files and discovered his history of treasonous activities, leading to him being coerced into becoming a special agent for the Far East Bureau. Jiang’s history as a traitor was well-known both inside and outside the party.
On July 16, 2001, Jiang Zemin and Putin signed the “China-Russia Neighborly Friendly Cooperation Treaty” in Moscow, which legalized a series of “unequal treaties” originally signed between Russia and the Qing government. Among them was the 1860 China-Russia Beijing Treaty.
In May 2023, the port of Vladivostok in Russia became an inland hub for trade in Jilin Province, serving as another gateway for Jilin Province after the Zalukun Port. This move was prompted by Russia’s economic distress resulting from strong Western sanctions following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, leading to slow economic growth and significant setbacks. Russia had to further strengthen its cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party politically, economically, and even militarily, making certain concessions such as allowing Vladivostok to become a port for China to alleviate external pressures.
Now, Russia has agreed to allow China to use the mouth of the Tumen River, previously ceded during Jiang’s era, in some capacity and also agreed to jointly develop Heixiazi Island. This indicates that Russia truly needs to pay a considerable price to obtain China’s support. Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party are not unaware of Jiang’s history of selling out the country, hence the deliberate focus on the mouth of the Tumen River and Heixiazi Island, suggesting potential ulterior motives.
In April of this year, according to legal scholar Yuan Hongbing in Australia, one explanation for the failure to convene the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Communist Party Congress is that party leader Xi Jinping initially intended to completely repudiate Jiang Zemin’s policies during the meeting. He aimed to hold Jiang accountable for all the social crises caused by corruption, economic decline, and governance issues but the successive setbacks faced by his own allies undermined his ability to establish his own path, leading to the postponement of the conference.