China's blueprints to control Eurasian Steppes, relatable to Sun Tzu's War strategies.
Introduction:
The development of the Eurasian Steppes is one of the most subtle and least mediatized reasons for Europe-China deal passed in December last year. On its part China’s Steppe represents 41,7 % of the country (Liu, Zhang, Li, Wang, Han & Hou 2008), feeding 1,39 billion people, harboring both agriculture sector activities and pasturage. As well since 2010’s China has put many efforts to assimilate Xinjiang, area which can be considered as the “springboard” towards the rest of Eurasia Steppes passing by Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, and Hungary. (Juvik 2020) Those areas of the Steppes in their actual state are the embodiment of geopolitical violent dichotomies and economic disparities. The vast Eurasian Steppes lands are raptured but one State, China, has the potential and ability to control economy and commerce trades on a total of 8000 km (ArcGIS data 2021) of Steppe’s lands, when counting its own grassland territories. The interest of this analysis is to outline China’s tactics attempting to develop and control the Eurasian Steppes relatable with the Art of War’s strategies, placing those in a concrete case example. They will be comprised in the following points: China’s demographic tactical feature, then the Chinese “knowledge arbitrage” (Kao 1993) and finally the framework around the mutual beneficial situation China offers to Eurasian countries around the Steppes.
China’s demographic:
The Chinese demographic is the largest in the world, its ever-growing purchasing power and anticipated overall 2021 GDP of 26,73 billion (Kneoma data 2021) are all stimulating markets as well as the global economic sphere. The ethos of the Chinese demography is and can presently be defined as a “passive pressure.” (Juvik 2020) This pressure in Eurasia can be related to Sun Tzu’s “Static-Dynamic” tactic, which can be described as an innate and subtle duress; proactively stimulating, thrusting, and leading markets as well as neighbouring countries. Developing the Eurasian Steppes would be paramount in the future to sustain China and its demographic’s needs as well as further China’s influence in Eurasia.
Knowledge Arbitrage and Sun Tzu’s “In war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike what is weak”:
China’s potential to control the future of the Eurasian Steppes emerged in 2013 when the Belt and Road Initiative was launched. The BRI makes possible to connect the Steppes cross-borders (as well as many other countries) and create trade routes. Chinese businesspeople and politicians are best known to develop strong “knowledge arbitrage” (Kao 1993) in this case such an initiative was built partly from the observation of Eurasian Steppes neighboring countries’ weakness: geopolitical division. Detecting the weak geopolitical climate and specifically its negative implications on the economic situation of these countries; China introduced the BRI to circumvent the geopolitical issues, develop trade routes, and bring a solution to these Eurasian countries to better their economic situation. In this aspect Sun Tzu’s tactic of striking, one’s weakness can be related. China used the geopolitical division and economic weakness of those countries to its advantage; solidify its presence via the BRI in Eurasian Steppes and taking the first step to control these in the future.
*BRI Six corridors’ map. Source: sc.com
Framework of a mutual beneficial situation:
Presenting this BRI project China offered a solution where all countries around the Eurasian Steppes will benefit. Kazakhstan’s president which desired for years to develop the Steppes but lack funding, ability, and allies, was able to join in and give his country better economic potential in the future. (Juvik 2020) The framework around these mutual-beneficial trades is relatable to The Art of War’s tactics: In this case it is not an annexation of territory that made it possible to accomplish the BRI but an alliance, a “creative” and not “capturing “manner. (Li & Yang 2017) Permitting China to develop further Guanxi and network with the powerful Eurasian’s elites. These Guanxi will be important for China to solidify its presence not only on a territorial trade routes management level but as well on a business level. In the same line of “victory without battle,” (Sun Tzu 5BC) China the last decades extend its presence in Europe and have been using an “invisible touch” acquisition style (Li & Yang 2017) to gain control of many tech companies (Michaels 2020), thus growing the influence of China’s State in whole of Europe.
**China’s State influence in Europe, China-EU FDI Radar. Source: datenna.com
Conclusion:
China was able to pinpoint Eurasia’s weaknesses, use them for the creation of Eurasian business alliances passing over geopolitical issues and acquire a substantial number of companies to extend its influence: a “victory without battle.” (Sun Tzu 5BC) China’s blueprints, regarding the development of the Eurasian Steppes, are the perfect example of the pundit knowledge and patience to reach long term goals Chinese Business Culture practices customarily cultivate. And excellent instances of Sun Tzu’s millennia old strategies applications and their cogency.
“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.” (Sun Tzu 5BC) China is conquering the Eurasian Steppes via the BRI and acquisitions in Europe to solidify its presence, now the victory is yet to come. The unification of the Steppes in terms of trade and business could change Eurasia and the global market dynamics fundamentally in the future, the Eurasian Steppes might play a crucial role and induce new business practices; those practices would presumably be founded on Chinese Business Culture, ecosystem, and environmental sustainability as well as European geopolitical praxis.
REFERENCE LIST
ArcGIS data retrieved from: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=46d59dfe70ff4dc089d82c81cb8f5023
Knoema data retrieved from: https://knoema.com/tbocwag/gdp-forecast-by-country-statistics-from-imf-2021-2025
Jukic L.I. Palladium’s article : Why China will decide the Future of the Steppe (August 2020)
Li P.P. & Yang M. How to Approach the Ancient Chinese Wisdom? A Commentary Concerning Sun Tzu’sThe Art of War (2017)
Liu J., Zhang Y., Li Y., Wang D., Han G. & Hou F. Overview of grassland and its development in China (2008), retrieved from: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/323908859.pdf
Kao J. The Worldwide web of Chinese Business (1993)
Michaels D. Wall Street Journal’ article: Behind China’s Decade of European Deals, State Investors Evade Notice. (September 2020), retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/behind-chinas-decade-of-european-deals-state-investors-evade-notice-11601458202
Sun T. The Art of War (5 th BC) translated by Lionel Giles (2008) retrieved from: https://sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/proletarian-library/books/203ea0ae84b21fab951c5a55c5e0749d.pdf
MAPS’ SOURCES
*https://www.sc.com/en/feature/one-masterplan-six-corridors/
**https://www.datenna.com/china-eu-fdi-radar/