China's foreign economic projects are provided with military potentialThe high economic indicators achieved by China over the past 30 years have ensured the growth of the complex military power of the state.
The maintenance of economic growth is associated with the development of foreign economic relations and is provided by a set of measures of a military-political and military-technical nature. The leadership of the People's Republic of China systematically assesses the risks associated with the implementation of foreign economic projects. The list of these risks should include military-political (violent regime change through the "color revolution"), natural (earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, etc.) and man-made (accidents at industrial facilities).
The events of the Arab Spring in Libya became a clear reason for the formation of a risk assessment system. Then Chinese oil and infrastructure companies lost projects worth about $ 50 billion.
Another example was Yemen, where Beijing had to use warships to rescue Chinese citizens from the disasters of civil war. The total value of China's defense industry contracts concluded after 2013 with countries involved in military conflicts in Libya and Yemen does not compensate for the financial losses incurred by Chinese state corporations and private companies as a result of these conflicts.
Traditionally, Chinese state–owned corporations involved in the implementation of projects under the "One Belt, One Road" plan regularly perform their tasks in countries with unstable military and political situation.
The level of comprehensive military power of the People's Republic of China gives confidence to the heads of state corporations in the ability of the PLA to protect workers and investments. However, it is worth noting the statements of the heads of state corporations of the People's Republic of China about the need for a tougher position on ensuring the military security of the "One Belt, One Road" project, the basis for which were the events of July 2021 in Pakistan – the bombing of a convoy with Chinese engineers of the China Gezhouba Group Company Limited corporation.
Taking into account the acquired experience, the leadership of the People's Republic of China has determined approaches to ensuring the security of foreign economic projects, including the "One Belt, One Road" plan, including military-political and military-technical nature.
MILITARY DIPLOMACY AND JOINT EXERCISESChina's military diplomacy is based on Sun Tzu's principle of "creating an environment."
This principle implies carrying out long-term diverse preparatory activities aimed at creating favorable conditions, including for the protection of foreign projects.
The PLA command systematically carries out military and diplomatic activities aimed at expanding cooperation with foreign states interested in cooperation with China in the following areas:
– training of foreign military personnel in military educational institutions of the People's Republic of China;
– development of the military education system on the territory of a foreign state;
– expansion of joint exercises programs of various scales;
– provision of military-technical, military-medical and other material assistance free of charge;
– assistance in improving communication and control systems for military and civilian purposes.
For the training of foreign military specialists, the PLA leadership gradually opened higher educational institutions of the Land Forces, Air Force and Navy. The greatest emphasis is placed on the training of officers of the SV units. In total, about 20 universities have been opened for the training of officers of foreign countries, teaching in them is conducted in Chinese, English, French and Russian.
It is known that more than 6,000 servicemen from 107 countries have been trained in military universities of the People's Republic of China. Of these officers, six at home became presidents, one – vice-president, eight – defense ministers and 100 – commanders of the Armed Forces.
The PLA command authorized the access of foreign military personnel to the Sanjie and Queshan interspecific training ranges and to the enterprises of the Defense Industry of the People's Republic of China to familiarize themselves with the development, manufacture, testing and repair of weapons and military equipment (IWT), and also approved the participation of foreign students in comprehensive graduation exercises.
At the same time, the Chinese side regularly sends PLA servicemen for internships in units of the Armed Forces of foreign countries to gain experience and broaden their horizons.
In order to increase the level of mutual trust between military specialists, the leadership of the People's Republic of China authorized the provision of economic assistance for the modernization and expansion of the infrastructure of educational institutions of the Armed Forces of foreign countries participating in exchange internship programs.
The Chinese side is actively using the mechanism of command and staff exercises with the practical application of military and military equipment, within the framework of which short-term internships of foreign military specialists are organized to familiarize themselves with new developments of the Defense Industry of the People's Republic of China, from which the highest level of secrecy has been removed.
Thanks to such actions, groups have formed in a number of countries among the military-political leadership focused on cooperation with the PRC.
MILITARY MEDICINE AND HUMANITARIAN MISSIONSThe PLA Navy command has repeatedly sent a hospital ship with the tail number 866 on long-distance trips with humanitarian tasks.
Since 2013, it has made visits to 43 countries, and officers of the PLA Navy medical service have assisted 230 thousand foreign citizens, including complex surgical operations. In addition, the PLA uses medical support units, which, thanks to the capabilities of the military transport aviation of the People's Republic of China and civil airlines, provide assistance to foreign countries after natural disasters.
In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, Chinese military doctors sent teams of specialists to assist colleagues in countries friendly to China (Pakistan, Laos, Cambodia). This assistance was provided free of charge.
Chinese state corporations carry out contracts for the restoration and modernization of the basic infrastructure of partner states. Since 2019, AVIC International Engineering Company has been fulfilling a contract for the repair and modernization of Tribhuvan International Airport in the capital of Nepal, which was damaged after the earthquake in April 2015.
The military and political leadership of the People's Republic of China continues to send ship security groups to the Gulf of Aden to protect civilian vessels from pirate attacks. This practice allows the Chinese military to accumulate experience of long–distance campaigns - to improve the combat training of personnel and to check the reliability of ships in the absence of the possibility of repair at the base.
BASES AND SUPPORT POINTSEnsuring the transport and resource security of the PRC is the essence of the strategic plan "String of Pearls", the implementation of which began in 2002 and provided for construction work in the ports of Gwadar (Pakistan), Hambantota (Sri Lanka), Chitagon (Bangladesh), Sitta (Myanmar).
The successful implementation of the "String of Pearls" plan to a certain extent became the basis for the formation of the global strategic plan "One Belt, One Road".
One of the key elements of the system of military-technical support for foreign economic projects is the creation of a network of integrated logistics support points in countries with access to maritime communications.
The main PKTO of the PLA Navy in the western Indian Ocean is based in Djibouti. A full-fledged naval base has been created there, ensuring the stay of ship groups.
On the territory of the renovated port of Hambantota on the island of Sri Lanka, there is a logistics point for combat duty of nuclear submarines of the PLA Navy in the waters of the Indian Ocean. It is planned to store provisions, medicines, fuel and lubricants and other property on its territory.
Chinese strategists take into account the need to store sufficient amounts of military equipment in case of a natural emergency in the country of deployment. In other words, this PKTO is designed to serve as an advanced base for rescue and assistance until the arrival of formations from the PRC.
In order to solve the tasks of eliminating the consequences of natural and man-made emergencies, it is planned to equip promising foreign PKTO with equipment of rescue units.
The successful functioning of the PKTO, stationed in the Primorsky district, determines the availability of high-speed universal supply transports (TCB) of large displacement at the disposal of the PLA Navy. Currently, the PLA Navy is armed with two TCB project 901 with a displacement of 45 thousand tons. The delivery of military supplies can also be carried out by universal amphibious assault ships (UDC) of project 075, the serial construction of which is underway in Shanghai.
The PLA Navy does not have large-capacity tankers, and for the Chinese military, refueling at the PKTO with berthing facilities and fuel tanks is of great importance. The solution of this task is possible provided that the oil corporations of the People's Republic of China organize appropriate production facilities abroad and ensure the security of these facilities and employees of the PLA Navy.
If the PKTO is located in the immediate vicinity of the airfield, the Chinese military plans to use super-heavy transport aircraft developed under the Yun-50 project. Their maximum take-off weight should be at least 400 tons, their ability to perform transcontinental flights at a range of up to 12 thousand km without refueling in the air is provided.
The advanced system of optical-electronic reconnaissance spacecraft of the "High Definition" series is designed to provide monitoring of the activities of the PKTO and monitoring of the situation in the country of deployment. The development of the system until 2020 was hindered by the lack of heavy-class launch vehicles, which allow several satellites to be launched into a given orbit at one launch. The total number of the "High Definition" satellite grouping will be 138 units. Taking into account the interaction with the satellites of the "Celestial Communication" series, it is possible to promptly update data on the situation in the world every 10 minutes.
In general, the PKTO will be multidisciplinary supply centers for a limited PLA contingent stationed in the area of a peacekeeping operation, or to ensure the activities of PLA Naval ship groups in specified areas of the World Ocean. Promising PCTs are also necessary to guarantee the security of Chinese corporations and companies performing tasks to ensure the resource security of the People's Republic of China.
Similar PCTs in the interests of the PLA Navy can be created in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia after Chinese companies complete the implementation of high-speed rail projects in these states. The main goal of China's "railway diplomacy" is to unite transport systems, which will have a positive impact on the economic situation in neighboring countries.
The following basic conditions can be distinguished for the construction of the PKTO of the PRC on the territory of a foreign state:
– interstate relations at the level of "mutually beneficial strategic cooperation";
– assistance in the implementation of the "One Belt, One Road" plan, as well as participation in regional projects initiated by the PRC;
– active military-political and military-technical cooperation;
– absence of threat from terrorist Islamist organizations;
– stable socio-economic situation;
– positive perception of the presence of Chinese companies and entrepreneurs by the local population and willingness to cooperate.
THE NOTORIOUS "SOFT POWER"The military-political leadership of China, taking into account the interests of economic security, including the stable receipt of raw materials and resources, provides military-technical support to countries that are systematically fighting separatism, extremism and terrorism, referred to in the Chinese concept as the "forces of three evils".
Nigeria is an example. The program of military cooperation between Beijing and Abuja, including the training of Nigerian military personnel for 20 years in China, caused the Chinese defense industry to receive orders from this African state for military equipment necessary for the military, Air Force and Navy, as well as the fulfillment of the tasks of the counter-terrorism plan.
In turn, the work of Chinese gunsmiths caused the Nigerian authorities to support entrepreneurs from China. The Nigerian Armed Forces ensure the safety of oil industry facilities in the Niger Delta, built thanks to Chinese investments. The Chinese authorities plan to establish a PKTO in the Nigerian port of Lagos, which will allow Beijing to expand its presence in central and western Africa.
In general, the creation of a PKTO system outside the PRC is associated with solving a whole range of technical tasks assigned to defense industry enterprises. Taking into account the achieved level of development of shipbuilding technologies in China, the ability to create large-sized cargo ships, the Chinese leadership has authorized the development of the strategy of the "Maritime Silk Road of the XXI century", within which more than 10 deep-water ports with a full set of equipment and equipment for loading and unloading will be built in friendly countries. Thus, this is another area of ensuring the resource security of the Chinese economy.
Chinese strategists understand that the deployment of military units on the territory of a foreign state, even within the framework of intergovernmental agreements, will be perceived as military expansion and used by China's opponents in the information struggle under the slogan "China seizes new territories by military force."
The way to solve this problem may be the use by the Chinese military of such a method of "soft power" as the purchase of agricultural products from local companies. This will allow us to solve a whole range of tasks: creating a positive attitude of the local population, promoting economic development, forming sources of information and reducing the cost of ensuring the activities of ship groups in remote areas of the World Ocean.
The analysis of the actions of the military-political leadership of the People's Republic of China during the second decade of the XXI century allows us to draw the following conclusions.
The military-political and military-technical cooperation of the People's Republic of China with foreign states is an instrument for promoting the national, primarily economic, interests of the People's Republic of China abroad. A variety of ways and forms of interaction allows Beijing to form a positive image of China, "win the hearts and minds" of both ordinary citizens and representatives of the top leadership.
The study of the actions of the political leadership of the People's Republic of China indicates the intention not only to restore the former greatness of the Chinese Empire, but also to significantly expand the zone of its political and economic influence.
Vasily IvanovVasily Ivanovich Ivanov is a journalist.