Sea cucumbers, mini-livers, and productivity hacks

Your new Strategy Toolkit newsletter (May 6, 2024)

(1) Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer…

In the long history of events that the Chinese government views as tragic, the loss to Russia of the northeastern territories in the mid 1800’s via the Treaty of Peking ranks as high as those of Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and the South China Sea. As recent mass migration of Chinese farmers into these Russian lands may portend, what happens next bears watching by geopolitical strategists…

“In 2023, a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Chinese government issued an ordinance requiring contemporary Chinese maps to use the name Haishenwai alongside Vladivostok. Thus, Sea Cucumber Cliff made a comeback, at least cartographically.

“There are whispers among those who study the histories of the Qing dynasty and Russian Empire. "The Xi administration, constantly worrying about Putin's moves, has made a far-sighted strategic move," they say.

“They also wonder whether the Xi administration would aim for the de facto revival of China's Qing dynasty territories if Russia's powers deteriorate.

“The revival of Qing dynasty-era Chinese names extends to eight locations in Russia's Far East, including Khabarovsk, another big city in the region; Blagoveshchensk, along the Sino-Russian border; and Sakhalin, the Sea of Okhokst island.”*

* Nakazawa, K., “Analysis: Xi-Putin honeymoon at risk as Chinese flood into Russia,” Nikkei Asia (March 21, 2024); https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/Analysis-Xi-Putin-honeymoon-at-risk-as-Chinese-flood-into-Russia