Putin said that the United States and others should realize that they can’t curb China’s development, and China is bound to become the world’s largest economy.
Comprehensive report: On December 23, Russian President Putin held an annual large-scale press conference to answer reporters’ questions from the aspects of COVID-19, economy, internal affairs and diplomacy, and summarize 2021. The press conference lasted nearly four hours, and Putin answered 55 questions.
Putin began to hold an annual press conference in 2001 during his first presidency, and 2021 was the 17th annual press conference under Putin’s administration. This year’s press conference was held offline, and a total of 507 journalists passed the certification.
Putin’s press conference is one of the opportunities for the global media to “close” the leader. What signals did this year’s press conference send? How is it different from last year?
Talking about internal affairs – how should the Russian economy go?
In 2020, Putin revealed at a press conference that Russia’s GDP fell by 3.6% and the unemployment rate is expected to reach 6.3%. But he also stressed that the economic situation in Russia is still better than the average of European and American countries.
Asked how to evaluate the work of the Russian government and the central bank at the 2021 press conference, Putin replied that the Russian economy is facing the challenge of the epidemic, but it is more prepared than many other countries in the face of the impact.
Putin said that Russia’s economic GDP will increase by 4.5% in 2021, and Russia’s budget for the next three years will also be oriented towards people’s livelihood. Russia should return to the official inflation target of “nearly 4%”. He pointed out that the real income of Russians is increasing, and the real disposable income of the people is expected to increase by the end of the year.
Talking about relations with the United States and the West – the United States has stood on our doorstep with missiles
When it comes to Russian-US relations in 2020, Putin said that Russia did not intervene in the U.S. presidential election. He hopes that U.S. President-elect Biden can use his experience to clarify and start solving the problems between the two countries.
At the press conference in 2021, Russia’s relations with the United States and the West remained the focus. Since the Biden administration came to power, it has taken a lot to deal with Russian relations. NATO continues to expand and compress Russia’s strategic space eastward, and the security situation around Russia is facing serious challenges. In this regard, Russia seeks to open a security dialogue with the United States and NATO allies, and is worried about the possible NATO stationing in Ukraine.
Putin spent more time on the recent situation in Ukraine in detail this time. He pointed out that after the political changes in Ukraine in 2014, the country may be “preparing for a third military operation” and Russia will be ready for it.
Asked about the “possibility of attack” against Ukraine, Putin replied that Russia had no intention of threatening anyone and Russia wanted to avoid conflict with Ukraine and the West.According to the Minsk Agreement, Russia is the mediator, but “they want Russia to be a party to the Donbas conflict”.
Putin pointed out that Washington and NATO should immediately provide legally binding security assurances to Russia, rather than asking Russia to do so. Russia hopes to ensure that NATO will not accept Ukraine’s accession and deploy troops and weapons in the country. Russia is ready to use the OSCE platform to start discussions with NATO on the issue of the security system in early 2022.
Putin also asked rhetorically, “The United States has stood on our doorstep with missiles… What will the Americans react if they deploy missiles on the border between the United States and Canada or Mexico?”
Talking about Sino-Russian relations – this is an absolute comprehensive strategic partnership
In 2020, Putin stressed at the annual press conference that Russia and China have common interests in many fields, and the leaders of the two countries maintain good relations of mutual trust and pragmatism.
In 2021, Putin also mentioned China many times at the press conference. Turning to the relationship between the two countries, he said, “This is an absolute comprehensive strategic partnership, which has no precedent in history, at least between Russia and China. “
In introducing Russia’s infrastructure development, he pointed out that Russia can learn from China and other countries how to strengthen interconnection in an effective and affordable way.
He pointed out that China is Russia’s largest economic and trade partner, and the two countries work in different fields, such as energy, high technology, space and humanities. Previously, the two countries had held the Year of Youth Friendship Exchange, Science Education and Cultural Exchange Year, and “These activities unite the people”.
Putin also believes that these efforts between China and Russia are beneficial to the two peoples and “are also a stabilizing factor in international affairs.”
Talking about the Beijing Winter Olympics – clearly oppose the politicization of sports
In addition, at this press conference, Putin said that the decision of the United States and other countries not to send representatives to the Beijing Winter Olympics to be held in 2022 said that this decision was “wrong and unacceptable”.
Putin also said, “I talked to a former president of the United States a long time ago. Guess who it is. He told me that boycotting the Los Angeles and Moscow Olympic Games is a mistake. So will the United States make the same mistake again? What’s that for? Attempt to curb China’s development.
Putin said that the United States and others should realize that they can’t curb China’s development, and China is bound to become the world’s largest economy.
Putin has previously made it clear that he looks forward to visiting China and attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, opposing the attempt to politicize sports.
