Translated material
Oil and gas meditation
The Russian President's visit to China turned out to be pragmatic
Russian President Vladimir Putin was pleased with the results of his two-day stay in China that ended yesterday. “This visit looks very solid, it is not only full of specific documents, it is highly pragmatic and aimed at strengthening political relations,” he said at a meeting with Speaker of the Chinese Parliament Wu Bangguo.Yesterday, Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao visited a forum of business circles of the two countries in Beijing. Economic cooperation between Russia and China is gaining momentum. Hu Jintao said that the goal set in 2004 to increase trade turnover to $60-80 billion by 2010 “can be realized through joint efforts.” For comparison, we can recall that in the mid-90s this figure hovered at the level of 6-7 billion, and the plan to increase trade to 20 billion seemed then almost utopian, although in 2005 the mark of 29.1 billion dollars was passed without much labor.
Large-scale plans for the supply of Siberian gas to the Celestial Empire outlined during the visit, coupled with expanding oil supplies, are guaranteed to make these figures even more impressive. However, Moscow does not hide the fact that it is concerned about the raw materials balance in trade with its giant eastern neighbor. At the business forum, Vladimir Putin recalled that in 2005, the volume of supplies of Russian machinery and equipment to China decreased by almost half - and this is happening against the backdrop of a noticeable increase in supplies of goods of this group from China to Russia. To this, Chairman Hu noted that every year China purchases more than $350 billion worth of mechanical and technical products abroad, so everything will depend on the competitiveness of Russian products. “I really hope that Russian entrepreneurs will fit into this process,” responded the Russian leader.
Chief researcher at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakov Berger, in a conversation with Vremya Novostey, noted that the current visit of the Russian leader to China has “primarily economic rather than political significance - and this is good, since there are no problems left in the political sphere that need to be addressed.” decide". The preliminary agreements in the field of hydrocarbons, according to the expert, deserve approval, since they “confirm the overall strategy to use Russian advantages in the energy field” and make it possible, by increasing cooperation with China, to balance obligations towards the West.
At the same time, our interlocutor noted that “it is impossible to impose government decisions” on increasing the supply of Russian engineering products - China has a market economy, and everything is decided by our competitiveness. Yakov Berger also notes that statements about strengthening cooperation in science and high technology “must be ensured by the absence of spy mania on the Russian side - if scientists are suspected of selling secrets to China, then this does not contribute to the development of cooperation.”
Vladimir Putin's visit to the Celestial Empire showed that the stereotypes of the 90s are becoming a thing of the past. At that time, only the lazy did not talk about the gap between politics and economics - Moscow and Beijing's dreams of a “strategic partnership” and a “multipolar world” contrasted sharply with the sluggish development of bilateral trade and investment. At the same time, a gap emerged between “hot” contacts at the top and “cold” relationships at the bottom. On both sides, at the level of ordinary people, the inertia of alienation was noticeable; the image of Russia in China was damaged both by the confrontation of the 60s and 70s, and by the very critical tone of Chinese propaganda regarding the Russian transformations of the 90s. Holding the Year of Russia in China, inaugurated on Monday with the participation of the Russian President, will help re-shape the positive image of our country among the Chinese and inherit the tradition of close cultural contacts of the 50s.
Yesterday, the Chinese media published a commentary by the influential Beijing international expert Yu Sui - he believes that the Year of Russia will finally show the Chinese that “Russia was able to get out of the abyss of decline associated with the collapse of the USSR and take the path of revival.” Boris Yeltsin's reforms are still criticized in China as an example of uncritical borrowing of the model of “Western liberalism” that is harmful to the country. But Vladimir Putin is increasingly being praised by Chinese political scientists for his desire to take into account “Russian specifics” as much as possible during the transformation process, which unwittingly builds a parallel with the policy of Beijing, which is following the path of “building specifically Chinese socialism.” Yu Sui believes that Vladimir Putin uses elements of “three ideologies popular in modern Russia and selectively applies them to Russian reality: liberal principles are more applied in economics, socialism in politics, and nationalism is more established in foreign policy.”
Vladimir Putin concluded his visit with a trip to the legendary Shaolin Monastery located in Henan province. Founded in 495, the monastery is famous throughout the world as the birthplace of Chinese martial arts. The monks of the Chan school of Buddhism (better known in Japanese as Zen) sought enlightenment there through stillness and contemplation. However, even in ancient times, their mentor developed a set of physical exercises to restore vital activity, which over time turned into Shaolin Wushu. Vladimir Putin became the first current world leader to visit Shaolin.
The abbot of the monastery, Shi Yongxin, gave the guest a tour, introduced him to the life of the monks, and showed him training and meditation. The President inquired about the meaning of the red badges attached to the monks’ vestments. This question confused the abbot. “This is for your visit, it means that the monks have been checked by security,” Shi explained. In the gym, one of the students suggested that Vladimir Putin hit him, thereby testing the strength of his abdominal muscles. However, the president preferred to simply pat the monk on the shoulder, saying: “It’s better not to, in case he answers.”