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Vladivostok plays a key role as a seaport city for Russia. However, its historical roots show that this land originally belonged to our country, located in the northeastern part of the continent, and was an important external route. It then fell into the hands of Russia, which reached an agreement to return Vladivostok in 1995, but to this day this promise seems to have not been fulfilled. The reason for this is really curious.
- The importance of Vladivostok
The city currently called Vladivostok, formerly known as Vladivostok, was annexed by Russia in 1860 and means "conquer the East". Today, it has developed into one of the most important seaport cities in Russia, located on the northeastern edge of the Asian and European continents, right next to the Sea of Japan. To the north of the city is the Plateau, while to the east, west and south it is surrounded by the Gulf of Ussuri, the Great Peter Bay and the Amur Bay. Its main port is close to the Golden Horn at the top of the Amur Peninsula.
The Golden Horn is about 7 kilometres long from southwest to northeast inland, with a width of about 2 kilometres at the entrance and a depth of between 20 and 30 metres. The southern side of the Golden Horn is separated from Russky Island by the Eastern Bosphorus, which naturally forms a barrier. It is one of the few natural ports in the world. Thanks to its strategic location, it is also home to the base of the Russian Pacific Fleet. As of 2018, the city's population has reached 605,000 people, predominantly ethnic Russians.
In addition, there is an important railway line, the Trans-Siberian Railway, which began construction in 1891 and was completed in 1905, with a total length of more than 9,000 kilometers, starting from Vladivostok and passing through the Russian Far East, passing through Balovsk, Chita, Novosibirsk and other regions, and finally reaching Yekaterinburg at the eastern foot of the Urals.
The port of Vladivostok is the only port in the world that is directly connected to the railway system. As one of the most important ports in the Far East, it can handle up to 10 million tons of cargo per year. The local ice period is from December to March, and although it is frozen, the ice is not thick and the icebreakers can easily clear the way, so there is less impact on shipping, allowing the port to operate all year round.
Vladivostok's importance to China is reflected in its unique location as one of the world's finest natural ports, providing a strategic location for northern China, with easy access to the Pacific Ocean and facing the Sea of Japan. In addition, Singapore relies on the Strait of Malacca to collect billions of dollars a year in tolls, and in the past few decades, China has also had to pay tolls to Russia for goods going to sea through Vladivostok. If it still belongs to China, the import and export costs of the Northeast region will be greatly reduced, and the transportation time of exported goods will also be shortened.
However, the wheels of history have long turned, and Vladivostok's ownership is a foregone conclusion, but its economic ties with China remain strong. With the deepening of globalization and the advancement of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the strategic position of Vladivostok has become more and more significant, becoming a key node of the bridge connecting Eurasia. In order to promote the further development of the regional economy, in recent years the Russian government has taken a number of measures to attract foreign investment and promote the modernization of the port of Vladivostok.
In order to make it a logistics and trade hub in Northeast Asia, Vladivostok has implemented a number of new infrastructure projects, including the expansion of the port, the upgrading of railways and highways, and the construction of a new airport. These initiatives are aimed at increasing the competitiveness of Vladivostok in international trade and strengthening economic ties with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as China, Japan, and South Korea. Chinese companies have played an important role in this process. Encouraged by the Belt and Road Initiative, many Chinese companies have set their sights on Vladivostok and its surrounding areas, participating in a range of infrastructure and energy projects. For example, a Chinese company has partnered with a Russian company to build a modern logistics center near Vladivostok to facilitate trade between China and Russia.
In addition, Vladivostok has become a window for the opening of the eastern regions of Russia. The Russian government has set up a number of special economic zones and free port zones, providing incentives such as tax incentives and land lease concessions to attract foreign investment to participate in local economic development. Chinese investors have responded positively to these preferential policies, covering a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and manufacturing.
Despite the challenges posed by geopolitical tensions and the uncertain global economic situation, Vladivostok's position as an important economic hub in the Far East is undoubtedly strengthening. By further deepening economic cooperation with neighboring countries, especially China, Vladivostok is expected to become one of the major trade and logistics centers connecting Asia and Europe in the future.
Why has the mainland not recovered Vladivostok so far?
The origins of Vladivostok can be traced back to the early Qing Dynasty, when it was originally a territory in northeastern China and belonged to Manchuria at the time. As the state weakened in the late Qing Dynasty, the region began to attract the attention of foreign powers. In the mid-19th century, China began to lose control of its maritime boundaries due to a number of unfair treaties signed by the Qing government with the West.
The Treaty of Aihun in 1858 defined the border between China and Russia, and the Treaty of Peking in 1860 ceded to Russia the land east of the Ussuri River, including the area of present-day Vladivostok. This marked an important turning point in relations between Vladivostok and China, which has since become a key Russian seaport and military base in the Far East.
After acquiring Vladivostok, Russia quickly developed the land, building railways and port facilities, and encouraging immigrants to develop there. Over the next few decades, Vladivostok became a commercial and trade center in the Far East, crucial for Russia's expansion of its Eastern policy. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, Vladivostok became an international focal point. Although Vladivostok was not captured during the war, the outcome of the war still weakened Russia's influence in the Far East. Later, the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent establishment of the Soviet regime also left a deep historical imprint on the city.
With the end of World War II, relations between China and the Soviet Union began to move closer and a friendly alliance was established. Since the two sides need to strike a balance between each other's support and cooperation, they have chosen to put the dispute over the territory of Vladivostok on hold for the time being. Rumor has it that the Soviet Union and the Chinese Nationalist government signed a treaty containing a secret agreement recognizing Chinese sovereignty over Vladivostok and stipulating that troops would be withdrawn after a certain period of time. Still, the passage of time has not seen the fulfillment of this promise. In the absence of conclusive evidence and formal legal instruments, such agreements are invalid under international law.
In 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded, and in accordance with the conventional principles of international law, it was supposed to recognize previous treaties. However, the case of Vladivostok was an exception, as the authenticity and legality of previous treaties were always in dispute, and the great changes in the international political environment at the time made any previous commitments lose their importance. In the context of the Cold War, tensions between China and the Soviet Union rose, making this territorial legend unrealizable. The development of history has been influenced by changes in global political forces, and the question of Vladivostok's ownership is also the same. As a successor state to the USSR, Russia, taking into account its own national interests, attaches great importance to its strategic position in the Far East.
In 2001, the Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation signed between China and Russia in Moscow opened a new chapter in history, one of the key points of which was China's unequivocal recognition of Vladivostok and the Far East as Russian territory. This not only strengthens the friendly relations between the two countries, but also marks a release for China to this historical dispute.
Since then, the cooperation between China and Russia has become increasingly close, and bilateral relations have reached new heights.
China will carry out in-depth cooperation in the economic, political, military and other fields to jointly promote regional peace and development. As one of the focal points of cooperation between the two countries, the Vladivostok region has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities. The Russian government has implemented a series of policies to attract Chinese-funded enterprises to participate in the city's economic construction and development. At the same time, Vladivostok's strategic position also makes it a springboard for Russia to further expand its influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Vladivostok also plays an important role in cultural exchange. With the increase of personnel exchanges and cultural exchanges, Vladivostok has gradually become a model of Russian-Chinese integration. The annual Eastern Economic Forum in Russia attracts many Chinese representatives and has become an important platform for exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. There is also a boom in learning Chinese in the city, and many schools have set up Chinese courses to meet the growing demand for learning.
In terms of environmental protection, China and Russia have also launched joint projects to protect and restore the natural ecology of Vladivostok and its surrounding areas. Including the protection of endangered wild animals and plants, the improvement of air quality, the control of water pollution, etc., has achieved remarkable results in jointly maintaining regional environmental security.
Overall, the development of Vladivostok has not only witnessed the improvement of relations between China and Russia, but also become a microcosm of regional cooperation and development. Although it was once the focus of territorial disputes, today, through bilateral efforts, Vladivostok is increasingly becoming a bridge for regional stability, development and cooperation. In the future, Vladivostok's role and influence are expected to be further strengthened, becoming an important window for Russia's opening up and international cooperation, as well as a vivid testimony of Russian-Chinese friendship.