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V.A. Kryukov and V.Ye. Seliverstov on “International scientific center for problems of cross-border interactions in the North and North-East Asia”

16 march 2020

At recent meeting of presidium of RAS director of IEIE SB RAS academician V.A. Kryukov delivered a report “On creation within the SB RAS of an International scientific center on problems of cross-border cooperation in the North and North-East Asia”, which highlighted issues of cross-border interactions of Siberian regions in terms of economics, social sphere and scientific-technological development that were raised by our scientists earlier.

The interview to the periodical “Science in Siberia” given by Valeriy Anatolievich and head of Center of strategic analysis and planning D.Sc.Economics Vyacheslav Yevgenievich Seliverstov provides details about the center.

On the cutting edge of Eastern vector

12 March 2020

A new and in many ways unique structure in SB RAS is called “International scientific center for problems of cross-border interactions in the North and North-East Asia”. Our interlocutors who will tell us about it are director of institute academician Valeriy A. Kryukov, head of Center of strategic analysis and planning D.Sc.Economics Vyacheslav. Ye. Seliverstov and director of Center of scenario analysis and forecasting (SAFC) Alexander F. Braginsky (republic of Kazakhstan).

One belt, but one way?

The idea of setting up ISC came to fruition from comprehension of global changes. “It is quite obvious that the center of global development is shifting to Asia and this augments the role of cross-border interactions” states V. Seliverstov. But when we consider those in the case of Russia and China we clearly see a misbalance. It is no more than a bilateral trade, in which one country exports raw materials and another – finished products including high-tech goods. Where are joint investment projects, common programs for developing border-adjacent territories? What about scientific and technological cooperation?

“Today’s agenda is more in the format of economic cooperation connected to implementation of major intergovernmental projects and long-term programs. And this requires their preliminary evaluation, analysis and monitoring. – believes V. Kryukov. – the same north sea route is regarded not as an internal Russia’s passage but as a global transportation corridor. Amursk gas-processing plant is to be constructed for the purpose of meeting cross-border demand and the ambitious Chinese project “One belt – one way” embraces in one way or another 60 countries. This initiative unambiguously carries features of economic expansion of CPR”.

Alexander Braginsky added: “The chairman of CPR Xi Jinping first announced the formula “One belt – one way” from a university pulpit during his visit to Astana in 2013. This is clearly soft power policy. The problem is not that they act in this way (rightly and timely) but that neither Russia, nor Kazakhstan do not respond to it with their own initiatives putting forward interests of our states. Meanwhile, the Chinese are pedantically financing a R&D-lab per every 500 hundred stretch of the route (Novosibirsk is not an exception)”.

This is not the sole example of soft power of the Celestial Empire. Labor and education migration in neighboring countries, establishing various analytical, cultural, language and youth centers there… Soft power is felt in the scientific field too. Thus in November 2019 Beijing hosted the opening ceremony of Research center on problems of sustainable development of North-East Asia built as a network of academic institutes and universities of China, Russia and Mongolia with obvious domination of the first.

New historic community

“Up to now the Eastern vector of Russian policy has been pursued exclusively via the Far East, - confirmed V. Seliverstov. – Siberia is little involved in cross-border activities although its potential not only that of resource base but scientific and technological is much higher. That is why the center in SB RAS will have a strategic goal for the whole of Russia – validate Siberian involvement in the intergovernmental relations within a new world’s arena – North Asia. It is a new notion we wish to introduce. We are talking not only about the Far East but also Siberia and beyond our borders – Korea, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and close to border Chinese provinces. There are many things that unite us. They include economic, ecological problems, issues of all-round development of territories, etc. Of course, we do not intend to counteract soft power but wish to build equal economic and scientific-technological cooperation.

It is worth pointing out another thing. All of the few cross-border projects in Russia are carried out by national corporations and big businesses but exclude serious scientific support. Calculation of risks and forecasting effects (including cumulative and synergetic) as well as long-term consequences – these tasks are objectives that need scientific approach. Even is these tasks are not formulated by corporations or the state, the Russian science needs to take them on all the same.

We are not talking about commercial but about socio-economic efficiency, - emphasizes V. Kryukov. - There are plenty of examples. Absence of state-like approach brought about a situation when Novosibirsk gross regional product, formerly a major industrial center, contains less than 5% of industrial output. Meanwhile, the city has a potential for producing goods of high market demand, such as components and spare parts for oil equipment, machine building plants of neighboring territories. This is a question of state economic policy and, in particular, of spatial distribution of added value and qualified manpower.

Novosibirsk is also part of North Asia. This megaregion stands apart on the continent as a mix of low population density with richest natural resources. It is lagging behind centers of global economy but has some promising scientific, educational and technological hotbeds. There is a dire need to resolve intergovernmental cross-border problems such as ecological, migration and energy-related ones. It is the North Asia that has since the middle ages been transpired by transport corridors and is facing another one – the North sea route.

Intellectual mushroom house

How prominent is the Eastern vector in the Russian scientific landscape? The structure of Academy includes the Institute of world economy and international relations of RAS, The Institute of the Far East and the Institute of eastern studies of RAS in Moscow and other but historically they have been engaged in cross-cultural studies, not socio-economic research and cross-border interaction. Interests of those institutions are traditionally directed outwards. They are interested in Japan, China, etc. but not in Russia’s (or Siberia’s) interaction with these countries”, - noted V. Seliverstov. “What is the principal difference between ISC and existing academic institutions? – raised the question V. Kryukov.- The matter is that a country as an object of our study is not a closed system.in the case of China we focus our attention on those of its territorial and structural elements that are involved in relations with eastern regions of Russia and Kazakhstan. In the first place we are interested in Siberia’s positioning in cross-border interactions in the North and North-East Asia. No one has ever done that and the goal of our Center is to fill in this void”.

Siberian branch has always stood out in terms of its interdisciplinary approach and this principle should be maintained in the new Center. IEIE SB RAS deals with problems of economy and society, Baikal institute of nature use SB RAS in Ulan-Ude – with issues of ecology and sustainable development, the subjects of Irkutsk Institute of energy systems is evident from its name, - says V. Seliverstov. – There is interesting work in progress in the institutes of Tyva and Transbaikalia, but the most essential part is economics, it should be the foundation. The purpose of ISC is to combine puzzles from diversified scientific results within initially set parameters of a desirable picture”.

The novelty of this situation is that we are talking about pragmatic interactions with a long-term perspective as our object of research, - explains V. Kryukov. – None of global political trends, only this. The Center will act as a system integrator and as a network structure. Our principles embrace close ties with the state and business, inter-disciplinarity, combination of fundamental and applied research, integration with high school and multi-functionality”. Alexander Braginsky introduces a new definition: “The Center is network thin tank. In other words a distributed research mushroom house combining new approaches, new areas and generating new conclusions that no one has ever produced”.

The Center as a network structure will involve hundreds of researchers from North Asian countries but it won’t be a hundred percent horizontal structure, - supposes V. Seliverstov. – There will be a core of ISC – a structural department of SB RAS with a HQ in Novosibirsk and staff of 30: mostly part-time workers from partner-institutes but also full-time employees. Translators and web administrators as we would need to create a full-scale portal in three languages – Russian, English and Chinese. The top consultative organ of Center is the board of directors. It will be headed by the top manager of the general partner, that is, the director of IEIE SB RAS. Among Russian partners are the stte scientific-technical public library SB RAS, ISEM SB RAS, BINU SB RAS, Irkutsk Institute of Geography, Chita Institute of natural resources, ecology and cryology SB RAS, Tyva institute of complex exploration of natural resources SB RAS, other academic institutions, leading universities of Novosibirsk, Tomsk and other cities. Some lines of activities (about ten) will be headed by coordinators, top scientists from SB RAS. Involvement is expected from Academpark and other technoparks of Siberian macro-region. It is an oven network and the list of collaborators will also be open”.

If we manage to create an environment for growing large cross-border projects, a sort of a mushroom house it will be an important result” – pointed out V. Kryukov.

Partners, problems, plans

At the time of academician M.A. Lavrentyev, great names of scientific schools came to Siberia with their best pupils and colleagues in the hope of establishing a new institute and confident that it will be state financed. Nowadays a new research center (without federal lobbying) requires participation of entities that are prepared to pay for useful knowledge and recommendations. “The ISC that is being created already has a portfolio of ordered research: these are related to oil extraction and oil chemistry, transportation flows, nature use, - comments V. Kryukov. – All of this requires scientific support and we are starting to build relations with large industrial partners”.

Sb RAS and Novosibirsk state university have already concluded agreements with Kazakhstan’s Fund of national welfare “Samruk-Kazyna”. Kazakhstan’s partners are interested in creating technoparks of the same scale and level as ours, - added V. Seliverstov. – Another site for international scientific-technological cooperation is a Chinese territory of high-tech development in Chanchun. The first, the second and many more should find its place in the program of ‘Academgorodok 2.0’”.

Kazakhstan’s establishment and business are quite keen on the idea of setting up such a Center, - explains A. Braginsky. - The chairman of the board of “Samruk-Kazyna” is planning a visit to Novosibirsk Academgorodok. The fund’s assets are worth $74 billion or a little less than half of Kazakhstan’s GDP. One of the key topics that may form the axis Moscow-Nursultsn-Novosibirsk is methodological principles of creating AI and technologies on its basis”. According to a scientist of the neighboring republic, there are already joint summits and schools in this field. Near Alma-Ata there is going to be a branch of the famous physics-mathematics school of NSU. However, there is not enough of a complex approach in upscaling the “Lavrentyev’s triangle” in different conditions.

Still, the ISC is being established (at least at the first stage) as a structural unit of the Federal state budgetary institution “Siberian branch of RAS”. So, it is a question of state financing for the Center. “The biggest difficulty is getting budget financing and passing all the documents through the bureaucratic structures of Academy of sciences and the Ministry of science and higher education of RF as the producer of the state order, which must be increased for the Siberian branch, - explained V. Seliverstov. – Presidium of RAS has already considered our initiative. This is a crucial but not final stage of establishing the ISC”.

Academician V.N. Parmon, chairman of Siberian branch of RAS: “This is the first case of creating a research structure within the post-reform Academy. The presidium of RAS approved our initiative and considered it a breakthrough”.

The second problem, which is not only about money, is defined by V. Kryukov as that of institutional competition. “Academy of sciences has a sectoral department of world economy and international relations but the new structure is created under the auspices of territorial Siberian branch of RAS that had not dealt with those subjects before, - explained director of IEIE SB RAS. – Historically we had been directed inside Siberia and reversing this won’t be easy. We shall have to prove a lot to many. We are opening a research paradigm – not local culture study and not globally analytical – by definition it is a complicated and long-term process”.

According to the Chinese proverb, a road of a thousand lieu starts with a small step. The ISC has a few of such steps. One is creating a website, mentioned by V. Seliverstov; opening of a special section in the journal “Region: economics and sociology” and preparation of a special issue of “ECO” journal; resumed operation of a representative office of SB RAS in Chagchun’s technopark and signing an agreement between Siberian branch and Changchun zone of high-tech development. Some of the first steps are so small – international conference on spatial development of North Asia (already in 2020), Russo-Chinese-Mongolian collective monography “Spatial development of North Asia: strategic priorities, innovation, integration” (50 printers sheets) and, lastly, a step as an act – inclusion of ISC into the network of leading analytical centers on the agenda “One belt – one way”.

“The Siberian branch needs another success s story, - concludes V. Seliverstov. - SB RAS has always been famous for its interdisciplinarity, close ties of science, education and high tech business. Great breakthroughs happened thanks to this and we are ready for another one, in the conditions of the 21-st century and in the interests of the country”.