Sakha Portal Skeptical about New Cooperation Accord with China’s Jiangxi Province

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 20 – One of the almost inevitable sidebars of any visit by a Russian leader abroad is the signing of cooperation agreements between RF regions and the regions of the other countries, something that allows the Moscow media to suggest that more has been achieved than may in fact be the case and that both countries view as a means to present their interests later.

            Consequently, it is no surprise that during Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing, the leaders of the Sakha Republic in the Russian Federation and of the Jiangxi Province in China signed such an agreement; but China’s less than positive record in dealing with Sakha has left commentators there skeptical about what this one means.

            Last year, China promised to build new infrastructure in Sakha but then dragged its feet (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/05/chinas-failure-to-complete-construction.html);  and Chinese experts expressed skepticism that Sakha could achieve greater local control anytime soon (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/06/chinese-analysts-say-sakha-wants.html).

            Now, Sakha commentators have returned the favor: The Yakutia Future portal said that the new agreement sounds nice but that it is far from clear there is anything much in it for Sakha and its people (yakutiafuture.ru/2024/05/20/kakaya-vygoda-dlya-yakutyan-ot-soglashenii-s-provinciej-czyansi/).