Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan have been introduced successively, and the Central Asian countries have been learned about a circle, and there is still a permanently neutral territory of Kummanstan.
Today, we will learn about the most mysterious country in Central Asia , Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan's historical ties with China
Unlike the other four countries, Turkmenistan's historical ties to ancient China are full of mystery.
Turkmenistan has a long history. Around 2000 BC, the ancestors of the Turkmen people drifted to the present territory as the Cesians of the ancient Iranian tribe of raising horses, and a class society emerged in 1000 BC.
It is said that because he is good at raising horses and taming dogs, he often interacts with dogs. Later, due to the war between the Shang Dynasty and inu rong, some of the ancient Cessians had to stay at the junction of today's three provinces of Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia, and established a tribe known as the luguo and attached itself to the inuyasha.
According to the Book of Shang, King Wu of Zhou defeated the Shang Dynasty and at the same time opened up the way to connect with the various princely states in the four directions. Xi Rong Luguojin offered a fierce big dog to Zhou. At that time, the Taibao summoned Gongyi to write the article "Traveling Mastiff" to instruct king Wu.
This kind of traveling mastiff, according to Iranian archaeologists, is the Arabie dog in today's Turkmenistan.
In the 8th century BC, the rising Qin state defeated Inuyasha, inuyasha fled to the Mongolian steppe, and the country moved westward, partly into southern Russia, and some wandering to the Ili River Valley to establish state power, because their supreme ruler was called "Sai Wang", and was also called "Cypriots" or "Cypriots" in the Central Plains.
They are mentioned more than once in the famous Chinese history book The Book of Han. The Book of Han and the Tale of the Western Regions says that the eastern part of the Wusun Kingdom was connected to the Xiongnu, to the northwest was Kangju, to the west was the Hellenistic Dawan, and to the south was the country that lived in Chengguo. This place was originally inhabited by Cypriots.
After the defeat of the Ōtsuki clan to the King of Sai, the Serbs were driven by the Ōtsuki people and migrated south, partly into Kashmir and then southwest to the western part of present-day Maharashtra. The other part entered the Karakonmu steppe north of Iran, which is today's Karakum Desert.
It is worth mentioning that the legendary "sweat and blood BMW" of the Dawan kingdom is actually borrowed from the Cypriot country at that time, and was bought by Sogdian merchants into dawan for breeding. After the Han Dynasty defeated the Kingdom of Dawan, it was introduced to the mainland through the Silk Road.
Nowadays, this sweat-and-blood BMW has long ceased to fight on the battlefield, becoming a national treasure of Turkmenistan, called the "Akhalt golden horse", and enjoying the reputation of "Pegasus" in China, and is known as the world's three major thoroughbred horses together with the Arabian horse and the British horse.
Thereafter, for a long time, the Serbs were continuously invaded, expelled, ruled, and integrated by foreign tribes, and disappeared from Chinese historical records until the Tang Dynasty defeated the Turks.
In the middle of the sixth century, the Tang Dynasty established the Anxi Capital Protectorate in the Western Regions and Central Asia. The Serbs once again offered the "Heavenly Khan" the Arabai dogs, and the Tang court, based on the Book of Shang, gave the leaders of the Serbs tribes a fief and established the Governor's Mansion of the Mastiff Prefecture, the fuzhi Mocha City (in present-day Uchi, Turkmenistan). After the Battle of Tiros, it was occupied by the Arab Empire.
In the 13th century, the Mongols rose and expelled the Arab powers.
In 1220 AD, from the autumn of the fifteenth year of Yuan Taizu to the spring of the following year, in the Battle of Hezhong, the Mongol army, with Shuchi as the main commander and Chagatai and Wokoutai as the deputy commanders, led the first and second route armies to attack the Yulong Jiechi (formerly known as Huarazimo City, known by the Mongols as Yulong Jiechi, now Turkmenistan Ulgenchi) to defeat the Huarazzi model army and incorporate present-day Turkmenistan into the Golden Horde.
Around the 15th century, the Serb tribes that were willing to integrate with the Mongols formed the Turkmen, and the brothers Ofalman and Ahmang, who were unwilling to integrate with the Mongols, led 170 families of their own clan to leave the area and settle near Xining, forming the Chinese Salar.
After the 16th century, Turkmen was subordinate to the Khanates of Khiva and Bukhara. Tsarist Russia replaced the Golden Horde and conquered Central Asia, and Turkmenistan was assigned to the Russian Trans-Caspian Oblast. Ties with China are broken.
On October 27, 1991, Turkmenistan declared its independence and became a republic. Diplomatic relations were established with China on January 6 of the following year. In 2013, a strategic partnership was established with China. In 2014, China signed the Sino-Turkish Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation.
Permanent neutrality and king of central Asia
With an area of 491,200 square kilometers, Turkmenistan is the second largest Central Asian country after Kazakhstan and ranks 52nd in the world. Because of its location in the center of the Asian continent, the geopolitical position is very stubborn: the south is next to Iran, which is known as the hegemon of the Middle East, with a hot temper and dares to fight hard with the United States; To the southeast, it borders Afghanistan on a large area, which is known as the "war-torn country", and the rumbling guns of Afghanistan can be heard at any time; To the west is the Caspian Sea, a "key place in Central Asia", with many coastal states and complex forces, especially Armenia and Azerbaijan from time to time to fight; The northeast and northwest are neighbors of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan respectively, which seem to be safe and sound, but due to the high geopolitical value of the two countries, they are always coveted by the forces of foreign powers.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, independent Turkmenistan was faced with the problem of choosing a side between Russia and Europe and the United States, and choosing Europe and the United States would offend Russia, and choosing Russia would offend Europe and the United States. The point is that Turkmenistan, as a small country, does not dare to offend anyone.
Third, as a country bordering the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan is always worried that it will be involved in the Caspian War between the United States and Russia, and the two sides will fight for control of the Caspian Sea, regard Central Asia as a sphere of influence, and Turkmenistan, as a small country caught in the game of great powers, will risk becoming cannon fodder at any time.
The big countries can't afford to offend, the surrounding areas are constantly in war, the country is still full of contradictions, it is even more difficult to choose sides, the country seems fragile, and how to make the newborn Turkmenistan develop steadily is a thorny and very serious problem.
After repeatedly weighing the pros and cons, the government of Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov, the first president of Turkey, believes that following the example of a permanently neutral country such as Switzerland can avoid its own involvement in major power disputes and make it possible for Turkmenistan to develop peacefully.
In view of this, in 1995 the People's Committee of Turkmenistan amended and supplemented the Constitution, which clarified the neutral status of Turkmenistan and reflected it in the national anthem and flag.
In the same year, the government of Turkmenistan formally submitted an application for neutrality to the United Nations, and on December 12, it passed the resolution of the 50th session of the General Assembly, officially recognizing Turkmenistan's status as a permanent neutral country, becoming the only permanent neutral country in Asia.
With the birth of the Constitution, the economic development of the country has been institutionally guaranteed. After becoming a permanently neutral country, Turkmenistan began to pursue a neutral state and a comprehensive foreign policy, so the leadership of the Turkmen government and civil society have always participated in regional alliance activities selectively, and have become more and more "independent" in terms of diplomacy.
Turkmenistan is not like the neighboring emerging countries of Central Asia, which was close to the United States after independence, nor does it see itself as a Backyard of Russia. Instead, at the Kazan Conference on 26 August 2005, it was announced that it would withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States, and then forced the ethnic Russians in the country to choose only one of them as a nationality, Russia or Turkmenistan, and if they renounced their Turkmenistan nationality, they would lose all their property in Turkmenistan.
Under the policy adjustment after policy adjustment, the whole country of Turkmenistan has gained a huge sense of security, and then the productive forces have developed rapidly, and the happiness index of the people has continued to rise. Everything was in place, and the central government of Turkmen began to focus on development.
Turkmenistan, like other Central Asian countries, is rich in resources, especially oil and gas. According to scientific investigations, Turkmenistan's natural gas reserves account for about a quarter of the world's total reserves, and oil reserves are also among the highest in the world.
Since it has abundant natural gas resources, it is necessary to obtain the greatest value through exports, and China, as a developing country with great potential, is undoubtedly the best partner.
In 2006, China and Turkmenistan signed the General Agreement between the Government of China and the Government of Turkmenistan on the Implementation of The Natural Gas Pipeline Project and the Sale of Natural Gas by Turkmenistan to China. In the agreement, Turkey promised to export 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China every year for the next 30 years to ensure China's natural gas demand.
At present, China and Turkey have built three natural gas pipelines A, B and C of the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline, starting from the Turkish-Ukrainian border, passing through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and ending near the Khorgos port in Xinjiang, with a total length of 1833 kilometers.
Statistics for 2021 show that China imports up to 24 million tons of natural gas from Turkmenistan, accounting for 56% of total natural gas imports, more than Russia and Iran.
What is the concept of 24 million tons of natural gas? 10,000 tons of natural gas is almost 12,000 cubic meters. Converted down, it is equivalent to 290 billion cubic meters. If calculated according to the consumption of 1 cubic meter of natural gas per household per day, it can meet the living needs of about 700 million households per year. The total number of households in China is close to 500 million, that is, there is a surplus every year, and there is no need to worry about supply.
China could set up a Silk Road Economic Liaison Center in Turkey
The "Belt and Road" initiative is an important starting point for China to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. However, since China put the Belt and Road Initiative into practice, some European and American politicians and so-called experts and scholars have always resorted to tactics such as "catching the wind and catching shadows", "confusing the public", "far-fetched", and using clichés such as "poor quality", "environmental disaster" and "debt trap" to attack the "Belt and Road" initiative.
Although China already has a high-level forum such as the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, it lacks regional organizations that can be used for people-to-people exchanges and tell China's story well, and it is imperative to set up a "Silk Road Economic Liaison Center".
Why choose Turkmenistan?
First, Turkmenistan is a permanently neutral country and the only permanently neutral country that is not affected or infiltrated by the United States.
Secondly, Turkmenistan is located in the heart of Eurasia and can radiate central Asia, the Middle East, West Asia, South Asia, and Eastern Europe.
Third, Turkmenistan is a bridge connecting China, Iran and Russia, which is conducive to promoting the Trinity of China, Russia and Iran.
In addition, Turkmenistan is a beneficiary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and thanks to its cooperation with China, Turkey has entered the ranks of the world's fastest-growing economies, maintaining a rapid growth of 5.9% even during the epidemic in 2020.
Finally, Turkmenistan is naturally close to China, hoped to border China, and is one of China's hardcores in Central Asia.
In summary, it is most appropriate for China to set up a Silk Road Economic Liaison Center in Turkmenistan, and it can also cultivate Turkmen into the "Marco Polo" of the new era. Moreover, it is a huge positive for Turkmenistan, which can not only earn a considerable conference fee, but also enhance international visibility.
Therefore, turning back to China is the most discerning option for Turkmenistan. Because all countries, large and small, are equal, they are also fortunate to share the tangible benefits of Chinese wisdom.