On December 14, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual press conference. This is Putin's first press conference since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. When it was the reporter's turn to ask questions, there was a small episode, when the president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov was about to hand the microphone to the New York Times reporter, Putin waved his hand and asked the Xinhua reporter to ask the question first. As a result, the Xinhua News Agency reporter became the first to ask the question, and he was out of the limelight. This also shows Putin's attitude in the triangular relationship between China, the United States and Russia.
The Xinhua News Agency's reporter's question naturally touched on Sino-Russian relations. Putin spoke eloquently about Russian-Chinese relations, saying that Russian-Chinese relations are currently at the best level in history. The military, economic and trade cooperation between Russia and China are at the highest level in history, and the bilateral trade volume between Russia and China has exceeded 200 billion US dollars in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 30%, and the trade target proposed by the two heads of state has been completed one year ahead of schedule.
Putin stressed that friendly cooperation between Russia and China is not aimed at any third party, and that such friendly relations are now influencing the trend of stability and development in the world. In a relaxed tone, the importance of Russia and China to the world and the role of the anchor of the sea are highlighted.
When it was the turn of the New York Times reporter to ask questions, the New York Times reporter was a little indignant, which meant that Putin treated reporters differently, and Putin easily joked that this was all caused by the news host, you go to him, he didn't follow the rules. I've always been very democratic and fair. Putin gently brushed the matter over in a relaxed tone, inadvertently humorous.
When it comes to the Russian economy, Putin unveiled several key figures: Russia's GDP is expected to grow by 3.5% in 2023. You must know that in 2022, Russia's GDP fell by 2.1% year-on-year. Now that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has not ended, the Russian economy has begun to return to growth, which is really impressive. The unemployment rate was below 3 per cent and the value added of industry was 7.5 per cent. Russia's state debt fell from $46 billion to $32 billion.
Investment in fixed assets increased by 10 per cent. Profits of Russian enterprises have increased by 24%, and real wages of residents are expected to grow by 8%. Under the severe sanctions imposed by the West, the Russian economy not only did not collapse, but grew against the trend and quickly returned to the pre-war level, which is a slap in the face for the United States and the West.
Putin also showed more confidence in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying that our goals and policies have not changed, and that Ukraine must be denazified, demilitarized and neutralized. Putin did not express his willingness to compromise with the United States and the European Union, saying that when we achieve our goals, there will be peace······ They haven't changed. The meaning is very clear, and we will not give up until we achieve our goal.
Putin went on to say that the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict is a contradiction within the Slavic nation, and from the perspective of history, these conflicts and contradictions will disappear and are not worth mentioning. It shows Putin's domineering and open-mindedness.
Putin also admits that he was once naïve and had illusions about the West, believing that the whole world, led by the so-called civilized world, understands that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, what has happened to Russia, which has become another country altogether, and there is no ideological confrontation anymore, because there is no basis for confrontation. But the West doesn't think so. They do not need a full-fledged strong Russia with a large enough population, and this is not in their interests.
Putin said: Brzezinski, a well-known American political activist, suggested that it is better to divide Russia into five parts, conquer them one by one, and use their resources. But the premise is that each part will not have independent forces, will not have an independent voice, and will not defend its national interests like a united Russia. I realized this later, and I was quite naïve at first.
Judging from Putin's confident speech and light-hearted ridicule, Putin believes that he has led Russia back to the center of the world stage, and Russia is an important force that no country in the world can ignore. This is something that everyone must understand.