Russian Ambassador To China Denisov: At Least Three Vice Prime Ministers Will Accompany Putin To Visit China

Denisov (Xinhua)

On the eve of the opening of the second belt and Road International Summit Forum, Russian ambassador to China Denisov held a press conference in Beijing on April 19 to answer questions from reporters on Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China and his attendance at the summit forum.

Denisov said that Putin will be invited to attend and deliver a speech at the belt and Road International Summit Forum in Beijing from April 25 to 27. At least three deputy prime ministers of the Russian government as well as a number of Ministers of relevant departments of Finance and economics will accompany Putin on his visit to China, including Foreign Minister Lavrov.

According to Putin, this is the 28th meeting with Putin. Last year, the two heads of State met four times, and in June alone, they will meet at least four times, respectively during Xi Jinping's visit to Russia, the SCO summit, the CICA summit and the G20 summit.

In Denisov's view, the belt and road initiative has made great progress since the first summit forum was held. "One historian said it was the biggest investment in the history of mankind. I agree with that. " "Such a large-scale initiative will certainly not be smooth sailing, there will be some difficulties," he said. We look forward to the continued development of the second forum in the right direction. "

Denisov pointed out that China and Russia are working on a large-scale economic cooperation document, namely the Eurasian Economic Partnership Agreement. "This will be a comprehensive, open, new type of agreement open to all economies." He said that the concept of "greater Eurasian partnership" put forward by Putin is closely linked with the "belt and road" initiative, and the two can cooperate on the "maritime Silk Road", "ice silk road" and all Eurasian integration projects.

Surpassing the "small target" of 100 billion US dollars in economy and trade

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, which is a milestone in the history of bilateral relations. State Councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi said at the press conference of the two sessions on March 8 that this year China Russia pragmatic cooperation will usher in a bumper year, and the landmark project is the completion of "one management, two bridges".

"One pipeline" is the "Siberian power" China Russia east line natural gas pipeline. This century project is expected to be ventilated in December 2019. "Two bridges" refer to the first highway bridge on the border -- Heihe highway bridge, which will be closed and opened to traffic in the near future, and the first railway bridge, Tongjiang railway bridge, will soon be completed.

Last year, the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia exceeded 100 billion US dollars. According to Russian statistics, in 2018, Russia China trade volume exceeded US $108 billion, an increase of 24.5% over 2017, a record high. Among them, 3.8 billion US dollars worth mentioning is Russia's import to China. This is the first time since 2005 that Russia's exports to China have exceeded its imports.

"Siberian power" China Russia east line natural gas pipeline, this century project is expected to be ventilated in December 2019. (Xinhua News Agency)

In 2018, Russia became China's largest oil supplier for the third consecutive year, with 71.49 million tons of oil exported to China, an increase of 19.7% over 2017. Denisov pointed out that after the "Siberian power" Sino Russian natural gas pipeline is put into operation, the annual gas supply will reach 38 billion cubic meters. By then, Russia will also become China's largest natural gas supplier.

Although energy products account for more than 50% of Russia's exports, the exports of non energy products to China are also growing rapidly. In 2018, exports of non energy products accounted for us $12.2 billion, an increase of US $850 million over the previous year. According to the statistics of Russian export center, in 2018, Russia's exports of non energy raw materials to China were mainly wood, machinery and equipment, grain, chemical products and metal products.

Denisov was particularly optimistic about the potential of Sino Russian agricultural and food industry cooperation. "You can say that you have unlimited demand for soybeans in China." But he stressed that new growth can not be achieved simply through trade, but also through the provision of high-end technology and the establishment of production facilities.

In addition, Russia is also actively exploring China's e-commerce market. Denisov pointed out that the e-trade volume between China and Russia was US $2.3 billion in 2016, increased to US $3.5 billion in 2017, and exceeded US $4 billion in 2018. "For Russian consumers, e-commerce is the main way they buy goods from China."

At present, China has become Russia's largest trading partner, the largest source of imports and the second largest export destination. With the deepening of economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia, the Russian government proposed in September 2018 that by 2025, the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia should be doubled to 200 billion US dollars.

"Our economic and trade cooperation has not yet reached its maximum potential." Denisov pointed out that although the large-scale investment projects of Russia China cooperation are progressing smoothly, they have not reached the best level in the field of small and medium-sized enterprise cooperation. "Entrepreneurs in the two countries do not quite understand the characteristics of each other's markets. Some entrepreneurs said that the business environment of the two countries is not good enough. " He also pointed out that the two sides have also encountered some challenges in terms of intellectual property rights and financial settlement.

Docking with Eurasian Economic Union

Denisov stressed that Russia, as a member and individual of the Eurasian Economic Union, is carrying out "one belt and one road" construction cooperation with China. The Eurasian Economic Union was established in 2015 by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and joined by Armenian and Kyrgyz in the same year. The goal of the Eurasian Economic Union is to become an economic union similar to the European Union.

In May 2015, President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement on "joint construction of the Silk Road belt" with President Xi Ping, and signed a joint statement with President Xi Ping on the Silk Road Economic Construction in May 2015.

In May 2018, China, Russia and other countries jointly signed the economic and trade cooperation agreement between China and Eurasian Economic Union, which promoted the docking and cooperation between China and Russia in the construction of the "belt and road" and the Eurasian Economic Union.

Denisov pointed out that the docking of the Eurasian Economic Union and the belt and road initiative will cover many fields, but at this stage, the main focus is on infrastructure, especially new transportation lines and economic development along the belt and road. "China's transportation lines from Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia to Western Europe will develop rapidly in the near future. At present, the relevant roads and railways have been transformed, and the economic development of the areas along the new lines will be the focus of the next stage. "

At the beginning of the "one belt and one road" initiative, scholars in Central Asia and Europe may be dissatisfied with the "belt and road initiative" in China. However, over the past few years, Russia's attitude towards the belt and road initiative has become more and more positive. Denisov responded that China and Russia have no competitive reason for the existence of the "belt and road" in Central Asia, because the two countries are cooperating with Central Asian countries in different aspects.

"I think that the Central Asian region's acceptance of the belt and road initiative will bring more opportunities for cooperation between Russia and China, rather than competitive reasons, because we have established common cooperation mechanisms, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization." Denisov pointed out that the goal of China and Russia is to seek common cooperation opportunities in the Eurasian region. With India and Pakistan joining the "Shanghai Cooperation", there will be more cooperation opportunities in this region.

Denisov also said that China and Russia can jointly carry out cooperation in the development and utilization of Arctic waterway to build the "ice silk road". The "ice silk road" refers to the shipping route through the Arctic Circle and connecting the three economic centers of North America, East Asia and Western Europe, which can significantly shorten the shipping time between the three continents.

But at the same time, some Nordic countries are worried about the risk of Arctic navigation and its impact on the natural environment. Regarding the development prospect of the Arctic waterway, Denisov said in Chinese, "the future is bright, and the road is tortuous." He acknowledged that there were different views and that a lot of investment was needed, but stressed that it would be very promising.

"The conditions in the Arctic are very strict. We will not force enterprises to implement this project. They will only be willing to do so if the profit prospect is good." Denisov pointed out that in 2018, Russia's freight volume in the Arctic waterway will reach a new record of 20 million tons, and it will reach 80 million tons in the next five to 10 years.

?