Russian-Chinese Relations from their Origin until 1917

In XVIII century relations between two countries developed fairly smoothly. In 1706, Peter I issued a special decree on the strict observance of the border by Russian subjects established by the Nerchinsk Treaty. An important milestone in the development of diplomatic and trade ties between two countries was the signing of the Kyakhta Treaty in 1727. The outstanding Russian diplomat of the Peter’s era Savva Lukich Vladislavich-Raguzinsky was met with honor in Beijing and received an audience with the Qing emperor.

With the signing of the Kyakhta Treaty in 1727 (the exchange of signed copies took place in 1728 on the Kyakhta River), trade between two countries was not only streamlined, but also moved to a qualitatively new stage. Whereas earlier Chinese historians considered the Kyakhta Treaty only as a stage in the history of Russia’s penetration into China, at the present time such a one-sided evaluation is replaced by a more objective analysis. Chinese historian Su Fenglin sees the main importance in the expansion and development of cultural interaction between Russia and China and that “Kyakhta has become a kind of “cultural window” between two countries.”

An important role in the development of relations between states in that era was played by diplomats and their observations of the lives of foreign peoples. If the Russian embassies started visiting China in the 17th century, then the ambassadors of the Qing Empire first visited our country only in the 18th century. In 1712, the Russian government gave permission for the arrival of the emissary of the Qing emperor - Tulisan - to the khan of the Volga Kalmyks Ayuka. But these envoys did not visit the Russian capital and did not meet with government officials. The next embassy was organized in 1732 and members of the delegation visited St. Petersburg, visited the academic press and were amazed by the physical experiments that academicians demonstrated for them. The first real acquaintance of the Chinese with achievements of European science took place in St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Thus, Russia became the first European country which was visited by official envoys from China. Having travelled a long way through Russia, the members of these diplomatic missions had the opportunity to observe the life of the Russian people and provided their government with valuable information about the unknown country. The stay of the Chinese delegation in Petersburg and the communication with educated Russian people, including members of the Academy of Sciences, in turn, stimulated the growth of interest in China.

By the beginning of the XIX century China had rather vague ideas about Russia and its people. So, Archimandrite Iakinif (Bichurin) in one of his works illustrated some judgments contained in writings of Chinese authors about Russia: “The country is cold and wet. It often rains and snows. There is little clear and moderate weather. Mountains, rivers and deaf forests make the location difficult. They live in huts, on the land they use carts, on the water - boats ... They wear woolen clothes, they like to drink wine; they do not drink tea. Bread is made from wheat ... Russians are brave and strong, like to brag and are self-interested. They live in peace and there are few quarrels.”

Only in the first half of the XIX century special works on Russia appeared in China, which contained descriptions of its geographical location, brief information about the history and modern life of its population. Thus, the important sources of information about Russia in China were new Chinese geographical works. In 1848, Xu Jiyu, the prominent Chinese political figure, the governor of Fujian Province, published the work called “A Brief Description of the Seas and Land”. Xu Jiyu struck readers by the fact that Russia is the largest state in the world, located in Europe, Asia and America, listed individual cities and areas and gave their description. In terms of strength and power, Russia, according to Xu Jiyu, could be compared to Britain, but its power, he claimed, was concentrated in the West, and not in the East. As for statesmen of Russia, the most attention was paid to Peter the Great.

It was Xu Jiyu who laid the foundation for the steadfast interest shown subsequently by Chinese scientists and political figures to the personality and deeds of Peter the Great, who became one of the most popular foreign historical figures in China in the second half of the 19th century.

As we see, for Russia the first half of the XIX century was not so much an important period in the development of interstate relations with the Qing Empire, but rather as a time of intellectual reflection on the nature of these relationships and China’s place in the world. The leaders of Russian science and culture turned to China. The origins of such attention go back to M. V. Lomonosov, who showed great interest in the great Asian power and its people in the XVIII century.

In the second half of the XIX century the situation in the Far East changed radically. In 1853, the Crimean War broke out, during which Russia had to fight with England, France and Turkey. The fighting took place not only on the Black Sea, but also in other areas, including the Far East. The Pacific coast of Russia was attacked by the Anglo-French fleet. Under these conditions, the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, N. N. Muravyov and the Archbishop of Kamchatka, Kuril and Aleut Innokenty rose the question of strengthening Russia’s positions on the Amur. As a result of negotiations initiated by Russia, in the town Ayhun (in Russian writing - Aigun), located on the right bank of the Amur, on 16 (28) May 1858 the Russian-Chinese Treaty on the transition of the left bank of the Amur River to Russia and Russian-Chinese trade in the Amur region was signed. The Treaty had the article, which, in fact, formulated the interest of both sides to ensure the security of Far Eastern territories, in particular in preventing foreign ships to this area.

Practically in parallel with the conclusion of the Aihun Treaty, the signing of the Russian-Chinese Tianjin Treaty took place. The new agreement did not contradict the previously signed Ayhun Treaty. Very important was the article that legally equalized Russia’s rights with China. The additional Treaty (Beijing), confirming the content of two Treaties in 1858 and defining the boundary line on the entire eastern section (on the rivers Amur, Ussuri, Sunchaga, Lake Hanka and then over the mountains to the border with Korea) was signed by the Russian diplomat and statesman Nikolai Pavlovich Ignatiev and Grand Prince Gong. The Treaties expanded mutually beneficial trade between countries and provided protection to Chinese and Russian merchants from both governments.

At the next stage of the development of relations between two countries, there was a territorial disengagement in Central Asia, where the common border line was gradually fixed. Significant in this respect was the signing of the Livadia (1879) and St. Petersburg (1881) Treaties, as well as the agreement on the demarcation in the Pamirs.

In the 90s of the XIX century Russian-Chinese relations entered a new phase of their development, when Russian capital began to actively penetrate into China. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, when the Chinese army and navy suffered a crushing defeat by the Japanese, one of the most influential Chinese dignitaries Li Hongzhang tried to convince the government to rely on the help of Russia. Minister of Finance S. Yu. Witte, being a supporter of active Russian policy in the Far East, expressed the idea of the need to support China.

In 1895, in order to enhance further economic cooperation, the Russian-Chinese Bank was formed. The bank was established on the personal initiative of the Minister of Finance S. Yu. Witte to finance the construction of the future Sino-Eastern Railway. Russia began to be viewed in Beijing as its main strategic ally.

In August 27 (September 8), 1896, the emissary of the Qing Empire in Russia, Xu Jingcheng signed a contract with the management of the Russian-Chinese Bank to construct and operate the Chinese Eastern Railway for 80 years. The movement along the entire line was opened in 1903. Its laying and the emergence of Harbin had a huge impact on the economic development of Northeast China.

The center of the Chinese Eastern Railway is Harbin, a city founded in 1898, which was later poetically called “Far Eastern Petersburg”, “Moscow of the East” or even “Eastern Paris”. Until now, Harbin retains its former appearance and the spirit of Russian architecture at the beginning of the 20th century. In the first half of the twentieth century in Harbin and on the CER line there were both Russian and Chinese peoples, the culture and customs of both peoples were neighbors. The city has become a significant industrial, commercial and cultural center in which interaction of two different historical and cultural traditions took place. Harbin was destined to play a very large role in the fate of Russian emigration after 1917, when it became one of the largest centers of Russian culture outside the USSR.

A native of Harbin - Doctor of History G.V. Melikhov noted in his monograph “Manchuria-far and near”, the fact that “there were no artificial partitions between the Russian and Chinese peoples,” and the CER, in his opinion, “was built and functioned in the interests of two neighboring peoples.”