Kazakh authorities protested against a Chinese article with territorial claims. Actually, the accusation that the virus has been created in a Kazakh laboratory was worse.
by Turarbek Kusainov
In a recent article in Bitter Winter, I discussed Kazakhstan’s official note of protest, sent to China on April 14, against an article claiming that Kazakhstan is historically part of China.
The article that led to the Kazakh note of protest is no more dangerous than the false information on the website Sohu.com that the malignant virus was prepared in a laboratory in Almaty, Kazakhstan, financially supported by the U.S. military, and then in some way “distributed” in China.
Some European countries and the United States are now blaming China for the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic to humanity and the global economy, and are considering legitimate ways to claim billions of dollars in compensation. China denies responsibility for the Wuhan virus, and is now trying to shift this responsibility to Kazakhstan. If this slanderous information escalates, Kazakhstan will be blamed in the eyes of the international community, and will be in a difficult position to justify itself.
Analyzing the current situation, we can conclude that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, which sent a note of protest to China about the territorial claims, chose the weakest among the events that harmed the interests of Kazakhstan. Therefore, the Ambassador of China, Zhang Xiao, showed the futility of the notes of protest in Kazakhstan. In an article published in the Global Times, which is the international voice of the CCP, he said that his meeting with First Deputy Foreign Minister Shahrat Nuryshev went on “in a relaxed and friendly fashion.” Zhang mentioned the note of protest, and called the incident minor. The words of Ambassador Zhang Xiao were further developed in the Chinese press, where he was quoted stating that, “Kazakhstan has widely published insignificant articles on the question of Chinese sites. This means that the country’s diplomacy is imperfect.”
The Ambassador was thus ridiculing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, which had sent the note of protest. What dubious thoughts does this lead to? Do the Kazakh Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Ambassador agree to send a note of protest in advance regarding the article “Why does Kazakhstan want to join China?” (but not about the fake news on the virus), making the note of protest meaningless? Did they plan to deceive the anti-Chinese forces in Kazakhstan? Again, a lot of questions, no answers…
