On December 14, local time, Russia's ** Putin held an annual press conference in Moscow. The annual press conference is also an old tradition of Putin's tenure, but this year's is different. In addition to responding to the problems of the world's leading journalists, Putin will also communicate with the Russian people through live broadcasts. This is also the first time after the Russia-Ukraine conflict that Putin has combined the annual press conference with the live broadcast connection, facing the ** and the public at the same time. It has been learned that by the time Putin convened his annual news conference, more than 2 million questions had been submitted by all sectors of Russian society, hoping to receive answers from Putin. More than 2 million questions, Putin obviously could not answer all of them in one event, but in the whole event, Putin answered 67 questions, covering important topics such as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Sino-Russian relations, the Russian economy, and the international situation, and the event lasted for more than 4 hours, which is indeed very difficult.
The event attracted a lot of attention in China, especially a small episode that appeared at the event. **It shows that almost all the seats at the event are full, and it is very rare for the reporters present to get the opportunity to ask questions to Putin. In the face of the enthusiastic questions from the world, the press secretary of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, was responsible for selecting the questioners. When Peskov was about to ask a question from a reporter from the New York Times, Putin smiled and said, "No, let the Xinhua News Agency ask questions first, and then the New York Times." "What's more interesting is that Peskov asked the staff to hand the microphone to the American reporter and said it, but he didn't want Putin to let China ask first, after Putin finished speaking, Peskov also smiled on the side, and handed the microphone to the Chinese reporter first, and the scene was very harmonious.
Russian parliamentarian Sheremet pointed out that Putin's priority in asking questions to China is very symbolic and reflects the international reality of Russia and the rest of the world. When the West imposed sanctions on Russia and hurt the mutual relations with Russia, Sino-Russian relations rose to a new height again. In Putin's words at the event, Sino-Russian relations are at an unprecedented level. How to understand the current high-level relations between China and Russia? The following 4 points may help you understand more clearly. In terms of economy and trade, the previous target of 200 billion US dollars in 2024 set by the leaders of China and Russia has been achieved this year. According to data recently released by the General Administration of Customs of China, from January to November 2023, the amount of China and Russia increased by 267%, reaching a record 2181$800 million. In addition, according to Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Belousov, nearly 95% of the bilateral ** between China and Russia is settled in rubles and yuan. This is certainly a good thing for China and Russia, which can avoid too many Western financial sanctions in imports and exports, and China's renminbi is also accelerating the trend of internationalization. At the same time, it is also conducive to further deepening cooperation between China and Russia and the financial sector.
In the field of infrastructure and high-tech, under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Russia have steadily promoted cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, energy, science and education over the past 10 years. During this year's Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Chinese and Russian leaders planned a series of measures to promote high-quality cooperation and development of strategic emerging industries between the two countries. Militarily, China and Russia also have cooperation, according to the Russian Guardian on December 14, the Ministry of Defense released a message that the Russian Aerospace Forces Tu-95MS strategic bomber and the Chinese Air Force H-6K strategic bomber will carry out joint air patrol in the airspace of the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea on the 14th. In addition, Putin has previously bluntly said that Sino-Russian military cooperation is getting rid of the "traditional relationship of buying and selling", and "we are considering technology", which also means that Sino-Russian cooperation in the military field is entering a higher stage.
Finally, talking about the people-to-people exchanges between China and Russia, this year China and Russia resumed the mutual visa exemption group tour business, Russia opened up electronic visas to Chinese tourists, according to the Russian side, the number of Chinese and Russian "mutual visits" will increase to the pre-COVID level in 2024. The friendly relations and close cooperation between China and Russia are not only a matter between China and Russia, but also have a bearing on world stability. American-style "hegemony" is becoming a thing of the past, the world has entered a "century of great changes", and the new type of major-country relationship between China and Russia has become a model for the world, injecting certainty into an uncertain world.