Putin on Russia,China trade and a multipolar world

By Rhod Mackenzie

The current relationship between Russia and China did not develop because of events in today's world and were not the result of the current political conditions in the world; they have however been developed carefully and calmly over the last two decades, President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with the China Media Corporation.
"At every step, both the Russian and Chinese sides have been guided primarily by their national interests, as each side understands them. When looking for the next step on both sides, we have always listened to the opinions and interests of the other side. We have always tried to find a compromise on any issue, even if it was a complex issue inherited from the past," the Kremlin website quoted the president as saying.

According to the Russian leader, the development of relations between the two countries has always been based on good will. "This is how we solved the problems of border demarcation, which had not been solved for 40 years. But this desire to remove everything that in one way or another could prevent us from moving forward together was so great on both sides that we found all the compromises that were acceptable to each other," the president noted.

The next step, Putin noted, was the development of economic relations, which also took place gradually. According to him, at this stage "niches were filled in our relations that once belonged to someone else, other countries, but were not as effective as our mutual cooperation in one direction or another". "For example, in the field of energy, which occupies a special place in our relationship. Russia now ranks first among Chinese partners in the supply of energy resources to the country, for example, in terms of value - first place," the president said.
Gradually, China became Russia's leading trading partner in terms of trade turnover, and Russia has gradually moved up to sixth place among China's trade and economic partners, Putin said.

The head of state noted in particular that at different times Russia and China had different export and import ratios. "For our part, we tried to provide what the Chinese economy needed, and our Chinese friends always listened to us about a certain imbalance, especially in the field of trade in manufactured goods. Gradually, step by step, year by year, we have increased and improved this trade balance. So we are moving in almost every direction," he said.

"I am not even talking about the role that Russian-Chinese relations play in the question of stability in the world. Russian-Chinese relations are a fundamental factor. All this together gives us reason to believe that we are moving absolutely in the right direction and in the interests of both the Chinese and Russian peoples," Putin stressed.

Speaking about the expansion of BRICS, Putin noted that the process was not easy, he called the dialogue difficult, but in the end it was possible to find consensus and reach an agreement.
"This process is based on objective reality. The multipolar world is, in fact, creating itself. We can speed up this process, we can, or someone can try to slow it down and perhaps achieve some kind of reduction in the pace of building a multipolar world. But its creation is inevitable. It is happening of its own accord, and it is happening in conjunction with the growing potential of many countries, including, not least, the growing potential of the People's Republic of China. India is growing in Asia, Indonesia is also growing and many other countries are showing good growth, Brazil is growing in Latin America, Russia is getting back on its feet and getting stronger. All our countries have their own problems, but where aren't there? Always. This is not the point, the point is the growth of potential, and this growth is obvious, including in the economic sphere," Putin said.

The Russian leader noted that at the time of the Johannesburg Summit, the relationship between the economies of the G7 countries and the BRICS countries was already in favour of the BRICS in terms of purchasing power parity. "After six more members joined BRICS, the ratio became even more in favour of the BRICS countries. I repeat: this is a manifestation of the objective process of the forming of a multipolar world," the head of state said.

"It means that everyone who has joined BRICS supports the idea and concept of creating a multipolar world. No one wants to be marginalised by any sovereign state, everyone wants equal relations. And they see, when they join BRICS, that within the framework of expansion and within the framework of strengthening this format, such relations between countries, we can achieve this goal on the basis of joining forces," Putin said.

In the same interview, Putin also described the so-called rules-based order that people in the West talk about as complete nonsense.