Research On Spatial Structure Of China’s Frontier Areas And Cross-border Cooperation

Frontier areas can be seen as geopolitical sensitive area for safeguarding state security, and important regions for coordinating in-depth economic development. And they still act as the key gateways and basis platforms of the state’s opening to the outside world and expanding cooperation. The multiple attributes determine the necessity of in-depth research on frontier areas. Traditional researches, including exploitation and nation in frontier area, the fields of territory and governing border area, can barely meet the demand of analysis and decision making of the state’s opening up and comprehensive cooperation by penetrating the frontier areas, which makes researches on border areas an aporia. Based on humanistic geography perspective, proceeding with both type region and function region, it can bring about brand new ideas and methods by analysis on spatial structure of frontier areas as well as collaboration strategies. Therefore, on basis of elaborating China’s natural and human background elements’characteristics, the paper is to analyze the distribution characteristics of nodes(cities and towns), lines(traffic network) and nets(spatial connection), space structural states, as well as the regularity of historical evolution process of spatial elements. In line with opening up and comprehensive cooperation of both China and its frontier areas, the paper conducts a study on time-space astringency, regional service level, international connection pattern, and main passage of foreign cooperation, which are brought by the construction of cross-border high-speed railways. Besides those, some targeted strategies are also put forward. This study shows the important meaning not only on reflecting the evolution of the opening up and economic development of China’s frontier areas since 1992, but also exploring the strategies on geopolitical issues and cross-border cooperation for China in the future.The evolution of spatial structure of prefecture-level nodes in China’s frontier areas presents some basic characteristics in four aspects. There are discrete and multidirectional features in the prefecture-level nodes’ spatial distribution, and diversity in spatial control types and space coupling of provincial capitals and geometric central prefecture-level nodes, as well as the similarity in regional gravity centers’ evolution, together with dissimilarity in regional urban hierarchy’s evolution process. To be specific, the dispersion degree of frontier regions of provincial range is stronger than the prefecture-level district, and Northeast China’s frontier area shows the smallest discrete degree. The space coupling of provincial capitals and geometric central prefecture-level nodes shows 3 different types, medium, deviation and mixed respectively. The medium type contains Tibet frontier area, Inner Mongolia, Northwest and Southwest frontier area are all assigned to deviation type, and Northeast frontier area is mixed type. Regional population gravity has a slight migration, while economic gravity migration degree varies in different amount. There are different urban-hierarchies in five types of frontier areas. Northeast frontier area has a sound system of urban-hierarchy, showing relatively stable and well-developed feature. Southwest frontier area has a relatively rounded system of urban-hierarchy, which shows highly stable and developed feature. Inner Mongolia frontier area has an incomplete system of urban-hierarchy, which shows unstable feature, lacking of regional development center in second and third grade though. Northwest frontier area has a basic complete system of urban-hierarchy, showing significant fluctuant feature though. Tibet frontier area has an extremely semi-developed system of urban-hierarchy, which shows highly-stable laggard feature.The evolution of spatial structure of traffic network in China’s frontier areas shows a significant improvement on network structures and accessibility. The length of road increase obviously, and the topology structure is more optimized. Inside accessibility, outside accessibility as well as regional accessibility all have great improvement, which totally shows core-layer distribution structure. Well-developed urban economic districts, city groups and urban and town agglomeration are all excellent inside-accessibility regions, while the portal areas are excellent outside-accessibility region. Provincial capital cities’ cross-border convenience goes much better by the increasing of traffic network. From the perspective of comprehensive convenience of transportation, Northeast and Southwest frontier area are the best two areas.The evolution of spatial structure of spatial relation in China’s frontier area shows three aspects of characteristics. It consists of the intensity of spatial relation significantly enhancing, and patterns more vividly, along with diversity of the choices of inland provinces’portal to foreign market. More specifically, the mathematical statistics features of the spatial pattern inside five types of China’s frontier area show two aspects of characteristics, which are obviously increasing ability of gathering and radiating and highly matching the distinction presenting by traffic network. The spatial features are embodied in four level relation structures, which are dominant, semi-dominant, common and secondary, respectivly. Then, the dominant spatial relation patterns become more distinct. And they are more coherent with distribution pattern of inside accessibility as well. The choices of inland provinces’ portal to foreign market have differences in direction of north and south. It can be assumed that Baotou is the best portal city for provinces in the north of Yangtze River while Baise is the best one for provinces in the south based on the spatial relation between portal nodes and inland provinces. However,45 portal nodes of prefecture-level administrative district present characteristics of four hierarchical structures. To be more specific, eight excellent portals are Baotou, Dandong, Chongzuo, Honghe, Yanbian, Hulun Buir, Ulaan Chab, and Mutankiang. Ten secondary excellent portals are Baise, Bortala, Xilingol, Dehong, Fangchenggang, Wenshan, Ili, Bayan Nur, Heihe and Tonghua.Portal of state is the essential attribute of the frontier areas. The construction of cross-border high-speed rails connects frontier areas and nearby countries, playing a key role in country’s opening up and economic development. And it’s also a significant platform for participating in cross-border cooperation of frontier area itself. The construction of cross-border high-speed rails can bring about remarkable time-space astringency effect, regional service level promotion, location advantage of important nodes elevating and intensity of spatial relation increasing. As for countries and districts along or near the high-speed railways, much transportation convenience is brought about. As for the service level promotion, it presents different hierarchical structure characteristics of countries diversity on national territorial area, population and GDP. Some special nodes’local advantages are highlighted, especially on the role of traffic connection point. Such as Kunming, Bangkok and Vientiane would be pivot points by construction of Pan-Asia High-speed Railways. Urumchi, Harbin, Moscow and Berlin would be pivot points by construction of Eurasian High-speed Railways. Urumchi, Berlin, Teheran, Baghdad, Bishkek and Tashkent would be outstanding points by construction of Central Asia High-speed Railways. All the three high-speed railways’construction enhances the spatial relation between China and corresponding subzone or zone, thus forming different shapes of spatial relation patterns. It forms a "(?)" style pattern of spatial relation by Pan-Asia High-speed Railways, which is an enclosure of Kunming (Qujing)-Bangkok and Kunming (Qujing)-Hanoi. It shapes a ">" style pattern of spatial relation by Eurasian High-speed Railways, which is an enclosure of Beijing-Moscow and Beijing-Berlin. Besides, it forms a claw-style pattern by Central Asia High-speed Railways, which is a formation of Beijing-Berlin and Beijing-Ankara as well as Beijing-Teheran.The interconnection and intercommunication of Eurasia would make China’s main relation areas extend from neighboring countries to the whole land of Eurasia, and from east orientation to all-direction opening up. Also, it enhance China’s leading role in Eurasia, making China’s role as a peripheral country convert to a core country in Eurasia. Based on the research results, the paper puts forward some pieces of thoughts about China’s prospective geostrategic strategies and cross-border cooperation. Firstly, China should promote the steady growth in strategic cooperative partnership with Russia to enlarge overland geopolitical strategy space of China, and this is the fundamental strategy. Secondly, China should upgrade the growth of strategic cooperative partnership with European Council and Germany, which is European Council’s subject, with the purpose of expanding overland geopolitical strategy space of China, and it can be seen as the following-up strategy. Thirdly, China should push forward the construction of China-Pakistan economic corridor, aiming at extending maritime geo-strategic space to the Indian Ocean, and this is a necessary strategy. Fourthly, China should attach importance to cooperation with shattered area in confluence area of Eurasia, which can not only maintain China’s energy supplies, but also reduce the geopolitical pressure, and this can be a complementary strategy. Finally, China should gradually promote the interconnection and intercommunication of Eurasia step by step as to accelerate regional integration of Eurasia, which is the ultimate strategy.