Results of the first day of Putin’s visit to China

The main political event today is Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing. The international forum “One Belt – One Road” opened there, bringing together representatives of almost 140 countries – not only eastern ones, but also European leaders among the participants. The Russian president, who is unofficially called the chief guest, has already held a series of bilateral meetings. The main thesis is that Moscow is open to dialogue and cooperation on various issues. Vladimir Putin has already met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Details – in the correspondent’s story REN TV Victor Sineoka.

The absolute sensation of the day is that this meeting was not announced in advance. But suddenly a Hungarian flag appears next to the Russian one, and Viktor Orban comes to Vladimir Putin to say hello.

Before the presidents appeared, the atmosphere in the hall was as favorable as possible for negotiations. The Hungarian Foreign Minister hugged the head of Gazprom. And the rest of the delegation members were clearly happy to see each other. Where else can Europeans express their emotions if not away from the European Union? Although there is sad news – trade turnover is decreasing.

“There are reasons to think about what needs to be done additionally in order to influence this process in a positive way. Of course, it is very important to have the opportunity with one of the EU countries, with Hungary in this case, to exchange views not only on bilateral relations , but also according to the situation in the world, in Europe,” – said the Russian leader.

“I want to thank you for the fact that Rosatom continues to remain our excellent partner, I want to thank Gazprom for fulfilling its obligations,” – said Orban.

For example, Russian specialists are building a Hungarian nuclear power plant, despite all the obstacles of the European Union. And supplies of Russian gas regularly reach the Hungarian consumer.

The presidents talked for a long time. The host party clearly tried to make the platform convenient for negotiations. A little Russian-Chinese friendship was added to the traditional interiors with dragons.

“The part of the building where the president is holding a series of negotiations is specially decorated for this purpose by the Chinese side. You can clearly see here: “Golden Bridge of the Silk Road” is written in multi-colored sand. And, of course, several Russian nesting dolls on the left, and several Chinese ones on the right,” – our correspondent showed.

The president walked past Russian girls in headscarves and Chinese pandas every time he went to meet another guest. This is how negotiations with the presidents of Vietnam went.

“In order for trade relations to develop at the required pace, a mixed government commission is working, on our side it is headed by Mr. Chernyshenko. Since 2015, a free trade agreement has been in force between the Eurasian Economic Community and Vietnam, and I think that this potential has not yet been fully tapped,” – Putin noted.

Afterwards, we met with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand.

“Thailand is Russia’s oldest partner in Southeast Asia. Our relations have always been based on mutual respect, friendship and consideration of common interests,” – said the President of the Russian Federation.

Everyone noticed Setthu Thavisin’s bright pink socks. Perhaps a person from sunny Thailand should look positive. He came to the premiership from business. He produced household chemicals, then sold real estate. He is known in the country as a politician who knows how to count well.

“I’m very glad to meet you. We don’t have much time, so they will talk about the most important thing for us – agriculture,” – said the Prime Minister of Thailand.

Sober calculation is an important quality for everyone who arrived at the One Belt One Road forum. This is the third time China has discussed its big infrastructure project here. Connect sea and land routes to deliver goods inexpensively and efficiently across Eurasia and Africa. And most importantly, no one could block him.

Russia and China, together with the associations they belong to, have long been looking for a way to avoid Western blockades. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told us in an exclusive interview: the BRICS countries are thinking about digital analogues of their currencies, it’s safer. And you don’t need the dollar with the euro.

“A number of currencies have become toxic for us. Now the most urgent thing is to create a unit of account based on digital financial assets. After all, these are modern technologies, these are digital assets that are essentially subject to control by the central banks of our countries. They are in no way connected with external infrastructure and absolutely reliable”, – noted the head of the Ministry of Finance.

The idea is still being discussed, but all the conditions for its implementation exist. At the ceremony of the official meeting of the forum with Chairman Xi, there were several dozen politicians. Vladimir Putin in the center. In China he is called the chief guest. And a lot depends on Russian-Chinese negotiations tomorrow. The Presidential Press Secretary said “Izvestia”: the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will also be discussed.

“Two such powers as Russia and China – naturally it is very important to compare their positions on these complex areas. You know that before his departure to Beijing, Putin held such a telephone marathon on Middle Eastern affairs, so the leaders will have something to exchange, especially since The situation is developing quite quickly, tension remains,” Dmitry Peskov said.

The main negotiations between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jingping will take place tomorrow here, at the Diaoyutai residence in the morning. However, the president’s working day is not over yet. The schedule includes several bilateral meetings – until late in the evening.