俄总统：中国崛起是俄罗斯面对的挑战

choi

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VOA Chiese, June 23, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20110623-Russia-Faces-Chineses-Challenges-124415984.html
("俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫最近接受英国《金融时报》采访时特别提到中国，以及中国迅猛发展对俄罗斯带来的影响")

My comment:
(a) Monday I glanced at the two reports in Financial Times. Today, after reading the VOA report, I re-read both, neither of which mentioned China (except noted below). Both reports, arising from an interview with Russia president, mainly talks about who may run in next year's presidential election.
(i) Neil Buckley, Charles Clover and John Thornhill, Medvedev Rules Out Poll Tussle With Putin; Russian president still wants second term; Intent to roll back political centralisation. Financial Times, June 20, 2011 (front page).
(ii) John Thornhill, Neil Buckley and Charles Clover, Moscow's Enigma; Ft interview; President Dmitry Medvedev has his focus firmly on deregulation and democracy ahead of a still strictly hypothetical second term. FT, June 20, 2011.

The only time (2)  mentioned China was by reporters: "The economy [of Russia] is growing at a rate of 4.5 per cent a year, which may be slow by Chinese or Indian standards but outstrips the US and Europe."  (Incidentally, (2) had a side bar titled A 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' Routine That Has won handy favours from the West; Relations with America and Europe."
(b) Transcript: interview with President Dmitry Medvedev. FT, June 19, 2011.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4bfa1f38-9a90-11e0-bab2-00144feab49a.html

One needs to register to read the transcript (but not to view the video). But the following is what was in the transcript that was about China.

"FT: You have met Chinese president Hu Jintao. We are very interested in the opportunities and challenges being created for Russia by China’s economic upsurge.

"DM: The opportunities are easy to see. China is a neighbour of ours, the largest neighbour; a huge market consuming an enormous amount of goods made in Russia, including energy carriers. We consume a lot of China-made goods. The two countries complement each other in this respect. Actually, China’s explosive economic growth offers us a certain advantage. As soon as demand starts dwindling, it poses a problem to Russia. We had a slump in 2009 specifically due to our overdependence on energy resources. Their price diminished, and our economy shrank. As to the challenges stemming from China’s economic growth, this is what I would say. We should observe how the PRC is developing and draw conclusions. Because we can learn a lot from the Chinese, though every country is unique. I just said that Russia is following its own way towards a market economy and democracy. But we cannot afford for certain problems to be resolved here in a less effective manner than they are resolved in China. Frankly, when I go to, say, the Amur Region and see the splendid development of the adjacent region of the PRC, I realise that we ought to do the same; otherwise the situation will have an impact on Russia’s position. This is essentially the challenge.
* * *
"FT: You said in 2008 that there were privileged interest spheres in the neighbouring former Soviet countries. Three years later, do you think the developed nations recognise these spheres of influence?

"DM: Yes, I remember my thesis and it seems to me that I was misunderstood. I did not mean that we have privileged interests and nobody can poke his nose in there. It was interpreted like that quite maliciously, to my mind. I meant a different thing. I meant our privileged interests boiled down to one thing only – that we have got neighbours, with whom we maintained very good relations historically. In this respect, we would like these relations to remain so for a long time, forever. This is our privilege – the privilege to be neighbours and friends. And not in the sense that there is a country that cannot be touched without our approval. Such approaches are now in the past. It is ridiculous to say that in the 21st century that the world is divided into parts, with a state responsible for each of them, e.g. America is responsible for this country, Russia for that, China for that. This is just not serious. This does not fit my conceptions either. The world is multipolar indeed, and privileges imply establishing especially good relations with neighbours.

It seems to me that the president did not say, as reported in VOA: "他认为俄罗斯必须做相应的事情，否则俄罗斯的地位会受到严重削弱，因此中国的发展和崛起对俄罗斯来说自然是挑战。" FT also released a video for the interview:
Medvedev FT video interview. FT, June 20, 2011.
http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2011/06/20/medvedev-ft-video-interview/


------------------------------------Separately
(1) 学者激辩中国在美投资. VOA Chiese, June 22, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20110622-Effects-of-Chinese-FDI-in-US-Still-Debatable-124371034.html

Quote:

"2010年，中国在美国直接投资额超过50亿美元，为美国创造了大约1万个就业机会。直接投资不包括债券投资，因此中国购买的巨额美国国债和其他美国资产并不计算在内。

"本星期，白宫经济顾问委员会公布，2010年外国对美国直接投资额达到2285亿美元。中国在美国投资占美国接受外国直接投资总额的2.2%。

(2)美国媒体评中国：南海与台海. VOA Chiese, June 22, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20110622-US-Media-on-China-124385429.html

(3) 北约国家跟随美国宣布撤军计划. BBC Chiese, June 23, 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/world/2011/06/110623_nato_afghan_troops.shtml
(both US and NATO to start withdrawl from Afghanistan)

(4) 中国舰队穿过冲绳附近公海回国. BBC Chiese, June 23, 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2011/06/110623_china_japan_navy.shtml

Note: Japanese destroyer Kurama (DDH-144), a Shirane class destroyer, is named after
Mount Kurama
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kurama
(鞍馬山; a mountain to the north-west of the city of Kyoto)

(5) 菲律宾称美军有责任协防南海. BBC Chiese, June 23, 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/world/2011/06/110623_south_china_sea_dispute.shtml

Note:
(a) 美国与菲律宾在1951年8月30日签署的《共同防御协定》
Mutual Defense Treaty Between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America
(b) Last Friday (June 17), the Philippines dispatched its biggest, oldest and lone warship, the US-made RP Rajah Humabon, to patrol its the entire EEZ it claims (well into the boundaries set by China).

(6) It is reported (RIA Novosti and news media in Israel) that five Russian prominent nuclear scientists who designed and worked at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant died in the crash amid fog of a RusAir Tu-134 flight from Moscow to Petrozavodsk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrozavodsk
, though no foul play is suspected.
  
(7) William Lowther, Experts Call for US, China Policy Shift to Avoid War. Taipei Times, June 24, 2011 (available now).
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/06/24/2003506564
("There was too much reliance on an assumption that the US would come to Taiwan’s defense, he said. 'It is notable that debates are raging, outside the public view, about simply giving up Taiwan or Finlandizing Taiwan,' [Justin] Logan [of the CATO Institute] said")

Note:
(a) Center for National Policy: founded in 1981; based at Washington DC
www.cnponline.org
(b) The Perryman Group
http://www.perrymangroup.com/
(founder M Ray Perryman; based at Waco Texas)

(8) J Michael Cole, Ex-US Army Chief of Staff Visits Taiwan. Taipei Times, June 24, 2011.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/06/24/2003506568
(A little more than two months after retiring as US Army chief of staff, four-star General George Casey Jr is visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Republic of China Army; One such recent high-level visit was that of Admiral Timothy Keating, who came a few months after retiring as commander of the US Pacific Command in October 2009)

(9) Press release: China Airlines Fined for Violating DOT Price Advertising Rules. US Department of Transportation, June 21, 2011 (DOT 73-11).
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2011/dot7311.html

Note: China Airlines is based in Taiwan.


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