Central Asian research in the Peoples Republic of China in early 1990s

V. Tomsk State University. CENTRAL ASIAN RESEARCH IN THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OFCHINA IN EARLY 1990s. In the beginning of the 1990s China came across a new geostrategic structure in the West - within the formerregion of the USSR - Central Asia republics were established. There was not too much experience in dealing with Chinese partners- only direct trade between the two countries and trans-border (regional) trade. Chinese part was represented by Xinjiang UygurAutonomous Region (XUAR), the Soviet one - by several republics, such as KazakhSSR, KyrgyzSSR and some other parts of theUSSR. It is also natural that the research of the cooperation forms became number one priority for the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(CASS). At that very moment it was potentially important to have a strong base in the social sciences in the Chinese West. Firsttwo research centres dealing with Central Asia were established under the regional branch of CASS in Urumqi: one was the centre ofcultural studies (est. 1980), the other one had no specialty but more interests in the region (est. 1985). Indeed, these were the first researchcentres of Central Asia in China (not only in Beijing), and, of course, they had there own research limits and orders. They had nostrategic documents and were not independent structures within CASS. Later the government decided to establish special work groupsmodel, accompanied with both theoretical studies and practice. These groups included specialists from industry, trade, business structuresand administrative personnel that could represent the whole picture of the new regional situation. A new concept of cooperation leadingto the rise of Chinas role in the region was required. The first complex study was finished only in 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed;it was the Soviet Union Central Asian Republics Study (Sulian Zhongya diqu gaikuang). Notwithstanding the year of publishing,it was a great success for Chinese social sciences on the regional level and provoked further steps towards more complex studies. After awhile, the working group model was approved and series of special reports were coming. They were mostly in the form of handbooksfor businessmen, shouce. These were: Research of China-Kazakhstan Cross-border Relations (Zhong-Ha bianjing diqu kuaguo kaifayanjiu), Handbook of the Five Republics of the Central Asia (Zhongguo wuguo shouce), etc. Since then, in the 1990s specialists of theChinese social sciences sphere started to major on separate topics or questions (An Weihua, Zhang Zhenguom Wang Pei, Xu Xiaoyun,Wang Chencai, etc.). One of the most substantial works was Xing Guanchens Relations Between China and New Central Asia States(Zhongguo he xin dulide Zhongya guojia guanxi), published in 1996 and then revised in 1999. The political sphere of cooperation wasSun Zhuangzhis studies on the topic.

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