The Contents of the «Far Eastern Studies» N6, 2024.
Contents
Politics
Toloraya G.D. Moscow — Pyongyang: Three Eras — Three Treaties
Kistanov V.O. “Ukrainian Deadlock” in Russian-Japanese Relations
Asmolov K.V. The Constitutional Crisis in the Republic of Korea. The Results of the Parliamentary Elections
Economics
Savinsky S.P. The Payment System of the BRICS+ Countries
Safronova E.I. Rare Earth Elements and the Geopolitical Significance of BRICS
State and Society
Semochkina A.S. The History of Development of the Collective Study System of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo (Based on Materials of the Chinese Historiography)
Kudakaev R.F. “One Organization, Two Names”: Party-State Identities in China’s Political System
View Point
Vinogradov A.V. Cycles and Rhythms of Democracy in the People’s Republic of China
Military Build-Up
Grinev I.V. Patriotic Education of Military Personnel in the Republic of Korea as an Instrument for Ensuring State Security (1950–1980)
History
Pantsov A.V. Kang Sheng in Moscow (1933–1937)
Scientific Events
Kostyrkin A.V., Kudakaev R.F. I International Conference “Digital Oriental Studies”
Book Reviews
Gorbunova M.L., Komarova T.D. Book Review: Competition between the USA and China: Opportunities for Russia / Ed. by D.A. Degtyarev. M.: Aspect Press Publishing House, 2024. 300 p.
Portyakov V.Ya., Chubarov I.G. Book Review: Isabella M. Weber. How China Escaped Shock Therapy: The Market Reform Debate. Translated by Anna Vasilyeva. Yerevan: Fortis Press, 2024. 520 p.
Contents of the Journal “Far Eastern Studies” 2024
Moscow — Pyongyang: Three Eras — Three Treaties
Georgy D. Toloraya
The article provides analysis based on previously unavailable sources regarding the preparation and conclusion of major interstate treaties between the USSR, Russia, and the DPRK. These treaties symbolize significant moments in history, although they do not necessarily determine their threshold. An analysis of their political aspects allows us to understand the nature of the relations between the countries at that time.
The circumstances, international and regional events, and bilateral relations that led to the decision to sign these agreements are analyzed. A comparative analysis of the content of these treaties is presented for the first time. Issues related to the implementation of provisions of these agreements over the past six decades are also discussed. Fluctuations of compliance with obligations under these treaties are noted, and factors influencing these fluctuations are analyzed.
Special attention is paid to the background and factors that led to the conclusion of a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between the two countries in 2024. Considering the various interpretations that have been presented in the media and academic discourse, a hypothesis is proposed about the non-standard nature of this agreement and its long-term implications.
The rapprochement between the leaders of the two countries over the past decade regarding their views on the course of historical events after World War II and the Cold War, as well as their shared concerns about rising tensions and conflict potential on a global and regional level have been a prerequisite for the convergence of their foreign policy strategies.
This commonality suggests a long-term period of close cooperation, at least for the current political elites. This promises that the two countries will continue to work together to build a new world order based on shared principles such as sovereignty, equality, and justice. The article contains the proposals to implement certain provisions of the treaty, specifically on cooperation in creating a collective security system in northeast Asia and implementing a project in nuclear energy.
“Ukrainian Deadlock” in Russian-Japanese Relations
Valerii O. Kistanov
The special military operation (SMO) of Russia in Ukraine, which began in February 2022, according to the Japanese ruling circles, was one of the reasons that now not only the international situation in the world as a whole has become more complicated, but also the security situation around Japan has sharply worsened. Referring to the thesis of the inseparability of the security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions, Japan intends to strengthen relations with NATO in order to counter the «aggressive intentions» of both China and Russia in these regions.
After the start of the SMO, the situation in bilateral relations between Russia and Japan has changed dramatically for the worse. Acting in unison with other G7 countries, Japan joined the anti-Russian sanctions and took a number of other measures aimed at limiting bilateral ties. In parallel with the large-scale sanctioned pressure on Russia, Japan provides all possible financial, material and even indirect military assistance to Ukraine.
In response to the actions of the Japanese government, Russia declared Japan an «unfriendly state» and carried out a number of other «mirror» steps of an economic and political nature. As a result, now Russian-Japanese relations have turned out to be at the lowest level in the entire post-war period.
To get out of the «Ukrainian deadlock», in which relations between Russia and Japan turned out to be due to the destructive actions of the Japanese side after the start of the Russian SMO in Ukraine, it will take some time and consistent efforts of the two states aimed at restoring full-blooded ties between them. This seems possible only as a result of Tokyo’s rejection of the anti-Russian course pursued within the framework of policy the collective West towards Russia in connection with the military conflict in Ukraine.
The Constitutional Crisis in the Republic of Korea. The Results of the Parliamentary Elections
Konstantin V. Asmolov
The constitutional crisis in South Korea, which began in early December 2024 after unsuccessful attempts to implement martial law and impeach the President, escalated after the April 10 parliamentary elections.
According to the election results, the Democratic camp failed to garner the two-thirds majority required to impeach the President or amend the constitution. Similarly, the conservative party failed to turn the tide in their favor despite there being several issues within the Democratic camp prior to the elections. As a result, what initially appeared to be a convincing victory for the Democratic Party and its retention of a qualified majority turned out to be a preservation of the status quo. This is evident when comparing the election results from 2020 to 2024.
The main result of the 2024 elections is that the parliament has become more focused on bipartisan confrontation for the sake of confrontation. The influence of parties with a truly left-wing agenda, unlike the Democrats, has decreased to a minimum; attempts by the breakaway center-right and center-left to form an influential «third» force have also failed.
As a result, a sharp confrontation continued between the president and parliament. Appointees of the president and his legislative initiatives were rejected, and he also vetoed laws passed by parliament. In response, in the summer of 2024, the government increased efforts to imprison opposition leader Lee Jae-myung based on generally substantiated evidence. This led to preparations by the opposition for impeachment proceedings in response. The government’s attempts to «cut the Gordian knot» resulted in a December crisis, which will be discussed in the next section of this material.
The Payment System of the BRICS+ Countries
Sergey P. Savinsky
The article is devoted to the study of the formation of a new payment system of the BRICS countries. If earlier the process of the collapse of the Bretton Woods system proceeded naturally, without much effort on the part of its opponents, now the situation has changed radically.
BRICS experts are currently working on the creation of an alternative financial system to the Western one, including its own commodity exchanges, depositories, a payment system, with low costs of international trade, from which no one can disconnect.
The most likely vector of development for the de-dollarization of the global financial system is digitalization and the introduction of the latest technical achievements in the field of cross-border settlements with the introduction of a national digital currency of the central bank (Central Bank Digital Currency, CBDC), where one of the main initiators is a number of BRICS+ countries. The main work within BRICS+ is currently focused on the creation of an alternative financial and settlement payment system based on the national currencies of the BRICS countries, including digital financial assets, including CDBC and the main task that is currently being worked on is the issue of docking and settlements
The ability to trade freely, without fear of disruptions caused by sanctions in the work of banks, depositories, rating agencies and exchanges serviced by US and EU institutions, will contribute to the accelerated coordination of the terms of integration of the BRICS countries, and the system created on the basis of national digital currencies and settlements based on the distributed ledger system will greatly simplify settlements and make them instantaneous.
The new payment complex will help reduce the cost of cross-border payments by 98 %, and the multiplier effect will multiply the benefits many times over.
Rare Earth Elements and the Geopolitical Significance of BRICS
Elena I. Safronova
The main message of the article is to raise the question of how resource wealth, especially in terms of such highly strategic raw materials as rare and rare earth elements (RREE), can serve as a consolidating factor in an international structure, BRICS in particular. The relevance of the topic is due to a number of circumstances. The key ones are the rapid growth of the importance of RREE in industry, especially in sectors that determine the current stage of scientific and technological progress (clean and renewable energy, upgrade of innovative products’ properties, etc.), as well as the role that China, the founder and economic leader of the BRICS, plays in ensuring global economic viability of the Forum. Therefore, the focus of the work is on the Chinese aspect of this topic, including China’s comparative advantages in the field of RREE.
The article provides terminological and factual explanations of the RREE phenomenon necessary for better understanding the beneficial properties of these critically important raw materials. Then, the potential of those BRICS member countries, which lead in the production of rare and rare earth elements, is characterized country by country. The key points of the work are presented in sections devoted to the geopolitical significance of RREE issues, as well as the question of whether the Forum is able to extract real collective benefits from its resource “blessing» in the near future. The author concludes that cooperation in this area, which has a bilateral level, still faces a long and difficult transition to a collective format to go through, and that the success of this transition largely depends on the stance constructiveness of China, Russia, the New Development Bank, as well as on the extent to which the multilateral level can prove more productive than the bilateral one.
The History of Development of the Collective Study System of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo until 2002 (Based on Materials of the Chinese Historiography)
Adel S. Semochkina
The paper analyses the history of collective study system of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo, sites historical events that influenced its emergence or reference to it in different years and evaluates the description of the process of its formation.
In the course of analyzing the materials of Chinese historiography, it was noted that researchers mainly distinguish 3 stages of the formation of the collective study system. The first stage began in the fall of 1941, when the CPC established study groups for high-ranked party cadres. It was marked by the curriculum, training materials, a limited number of participants, as well as clear requirements to the professional qualification level necessary for enrollment in the group.
The second stage (1959–1960) is represented by the training within the reading circle under the leadership of Mao Zedong. Meetings are characterized by the secrecy (only high-ranked party cadre were invited), as well as by active discussions between participants on economic issues.
At the third stage (1980–2002), the features of the modern collective study system matured: the circle of “students” was gradually narrowed down to the members of the Politburo, the practice of guest lectures was introduced, the discussed issues were diversified, lectures were held on regular basis.
When evaluating the materials, it was noted that Chinese researchers do not provide the definition of the “collective study” that would describe the specifics of its functioning and would be applied to different stages. Moreover, this paper proposes a new variant of periodization of collective study, which, in our opinion, more accurately reflects the process of transformation of isolated lectures into an educational system.
“One Organization, Two Names”: Party-State Identities in China’s Political System
Rodion F. Kudakaev
China owes much of its success in reform and economic development over the past 40 years to its effective system of public administration, which allowed it to take advantage of the favorable economic situation in the world that arose after the collapse of the bipolar system. Many of the unique features of China’s party, state and public institutions were not studied in detail for a long time due to the belief that successful economic development in a market economy should have led China to Western-style democratization. However, China has not only preserved the originality of its political system, but also continues to improve it, following its own traditions of centralized state administration. One of them is the leading role of the CPC in the state administration of the country: the Communist Party completely permeates Chinese society, has its own cells and organizations at all levels of government and administration, which allows it to control the personnel, ideological propaganda and educational system of the country. The close connection between the party (CCP) and state apparatuses is ensured by the presence of special forms of their coexistence — the principles of “one organization, two signs” (一个机构两块牌子) and “organizational unification” (合署办公), thanks to which it is possible both to combine party and state identities within the framework of one organization, and to simultaneously combine party and state positions by one person.
Cycles and Rhythms of Democracy in the People’s Republic of China
Andrey V. Vinogradov
After China’s transformation into a global economic and political pole, political stability and the effectiveness of state power began to be highlighted among the sources of Chinese success, along with comparative economic advantages and favorable external conditions. The analysis of China’s state institutions and their potential for improvement is especially important in the context of growing socio-political instability in the United States and Europe caused by interethnic conflicts, the migration crisis, contradictions between representatives of traditional and non-traditional identities and the general decline in the effectiveness of political institutions of Western democracies. The inter-party cooperation of the CPC and small democratic parties, the activities of the CPPCC, as well as the historical experience of “small” and “big democracy”, consultative democracy and mass public campaigns in the 1950–1980th, which have been preserved since the period of the revolutionary wars, play an important role in the formation of political institutions in modern China. After Xi Jinping was elected General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, a new stage of political development began in China. Along with the concentration of a significant amount of power in the hands of the leader of the party and the state, institutions of democratic participation of the population continue to develop. The fight against corruption and the establishment of the State Control Committee opened a new direction of political participation of the population, which is associated with the implementation of control functions. The concept of “whole-process democracy” is being formed as a new main direction of political development, contributing to the ideas of representative democracy.
Patriotic Education of Military Personnel in the Republic of Korea as an Instrument for Ensuring State Security (1950–1980)
Ivan V. Grinev
The present article is devoted to patriotic education in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea under the authoritarian regime (1950–1980s). An attempt is taken to outline the process of development of Troop information and education system, to identify the main instruments for its implementation, and to assess the changes that have occurred in the system. Since such spiritual and moral qualities as love for the country and devotion to military duty have a direct impact on the combat effectiveness of the armed forces, military personnel are a special social group for which the ideas of patriotism have an exceptional meaning. In the context of the confrontation between the DPRK and the Republic of Korea, the moral and patriotic education of military personnel has become one of the most pressing issues facing the South Korean leadership. To solve this problem, the ROK Armed Forces developed a system of information and psychological support for military personnel, which made it possible to introduce soldiers to the ideas of unconditional support and defense of the state. Its important components were anti-communism, nationalism, and collectivism. Significant improvement of the system occurred during the presidency of Park Chung Hee (1961–1979), when specialized educational institutions for training teachers were created, a unified program of information and psychological training was formulated, and military media were developed. The measures taken led to an increase in the moral and patriotic state of military personnel. In conditions of universal conscription, the army became an important instrument in the hands of the ROK leadership, which made it possible to contain the spread of leftist ideology. The government’s unconditional support allowed the army to be used to suppress anti-government protests. The present study is based on such primary sources as ROK Defense White Papers (the major document of the South Korea defense policy), other official documents, collection of speeches by President Park Chung Hee, US CIA documents, the ROK Armed Forces Troop information and education materials, ROK military press, as well as the works and memoirs of South Korean military personnel.
Kang Sheng in Moscow (1933–1937)
Alexander V. Pantsov
Kang Sheng (1898–1975), head of all the secret services of the Chinese Communist Party, in 1933–1937 was deputy head of the CCP delegation to the Comintern. But until recently very little was known about his life in the Soviet Union since his personal dossier, which is held in the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History, was not accessible to researchers. Only now has it become possible to acquaint readers with documents from this file to shed light on Kang Sheng’s activity in this period. The information presented in this article demonstrates that Kang Sheng was not an independent figure in the organization of purges against Chinese Communists working in the Soviet Union. There is no doubt that the head of the CCP delegation to the Comintern, Wang Ming was the first violin in these dirty matters; as for Kang, as a rule, he played the role of his henchman.