Full Text of Putin's Interview with Chinese Reporters

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 03, 2002

Full Text of Putin's Interview with Chinese Reporters

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his forthcoming visit to China is of special importance and it is necessary for Russia and China to take concerted actions on the international arena.

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Putin: China is Key Partner of Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his forthcoming visit to China is of special importance and it is necessary for Russia and China to take concerted actions on the international arena.

The following is the full text of his interview with Xinhua on the eve of his visit to China scheduled from Dec. 1 to 3.

Question: Honorable Mr. President, you will pay a visit to China soon. Could you explain your expectation to the upcoming visit that is of special significance? And what issues about China are you interested in?

Answer: This a planned visit. I have decided with President Jiang Zemin to exchange visits regularly. The visit is of special significance because it is paid just after the conclusion of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The congress was a big event not only for China but also for the world because of China's huge potential for economic growth and increasing influence on and importance in international affairs. It is well known that the CPC congress attracted world attention also because of the noticeable power transfer of the high-level leadership of the CPC.

It is of vital importance for all partners of China how China will develop relations with its neighboring countries and other countries in the world. To us, this issue is particularly important as China is one of Russia's key partners in international affairs and the two countries have many plans to cement bilateral ties. In addition, the two sides, as neighboring countries, have many issues that need cooperation.

I have forged good private ties with President Jiang Zemin and I am scheduled to hold talks again with him. One year ago, I made acquaintance with Hu Jintao, the newly elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, when he was paying a working visit to Moscow. We not only had the chance to get acquainted with each other, but also discussed a series of bilateral and international issues. You know, Russia and China signed the Good-neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation last year. Frankly speaking, the treaty was initially proposed by the Chinese president, and wehighly appraised the proposal. We believed that undoubtedly it is a historic event in our bilateral relations. We should coordinate our stances to jointly realize the tasks set down in the treaty. We have many issues concerning cooperation in energy and military as well as in the field of economy that need to be discussed. On cooperation in the international arena, we also have issues to be discussed. It needs to be pointed out that the concerted actions taken by Russia and China in international affairs are a very important factor for settling a series of important world issues.

Q: You have just mentioned the Good-neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, which has laid a foundation for development of bilateral ties in the new century. Could you tell us how China and Russia can increase all-round cooperation in the new international situation and what is the focus of the cooperation?

A: China's state development plan is very impressive. The speedof China's economic growth, especially the growth in recent years,has attracted increasing attention to the experience of China. Therefore, we will give a priority to cooperation in the economic field. We have many issues to discuss in this field, such as the energy projects I have mentioned. With the constant growth of its economy, China has witnessed a growing demand for energy. We can discuss long-term cooperation in the energy sphere which is in theinterest of both sides, as China's energy resources are limited while Russia has rich energy resources.

I have indicated the necessity of concerted actions by Russia and China on the international arena and some issues should be puton a prominent place. The most important aspect of their cooperation and the most important factor of world politics is the maintenance of world stability and the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Hence these are a whole set of issues that we will discuss.

Moreover, there are problems of contemporary challenges and threats, among which the threat of international terrorism is the most important. International terrorism threatens most countries in the world, and Russian and China also feel uneasy with it. Actually, before the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York on September 11, 2001, Russia and China had made active efforts within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)in fighting terrorism by signing relevant documents and warning the world of the threat which showed a trend of expansion. Unfortunately, not all people took our advice at that time. I think our two sides will spend enough time during the upcoming visit on discussing issues in this regard.

We are very concerned with the situation in the Asian-Pacific region, and we will strengthen the agreements reached within the SCO framework. We have set up a special mechanism for cooperation centered in Bischkek. We have decided through consultation to exchange intelligence on a series of sensitive issues. This will also be a focus of our concern.

Q: What kind of role should the SCO play in fighting terrorism and separatism? And what is the prospect of the organization?

A: Since its establishment, the SCO has been growing constantlyand countries in the world have shown increasing interest in it. That is not incidental, because we concern ourselves with not onlyCentral Asia but also neighboring areas, which could also be the target of terrorist attacks. We all know about the tragedies occurring in the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries in theregion. We also know about problems in China and we cannot get ridof our uneasiness as China is also a target closely followed by international terrorists. To effectively fight these threats, we should unite. We should expand the scope of cooperation within theframe of the SCO.

At its early stage, the SCO was aimed at solving border issues between neighboring countries. But we realized later that there was greater potential for cooperation and the scope of cooperationshould be expanded to economy and anti-terrorism. We have reached agreements on further deepening cooperation, expanding the cooperation to include special departments and judicial organs within the SCO frame and on a bilateral basis.

Q: Under your leadership, Russia successfully rescued most of the hostages taken by terrorists in Moscow in October. Could you make a comment on the impact of the hostage-taking crisis on Russia's domestic and foreign policies as well as on its domestic situation?

A: First of all, I want to express my gratitude to the Chinese people and the Chinese leadership for their support for us in solving last month's hostage-taking crisis in Moscow. Secondly, I have to say that the terrorists' attempt to split the Russian society has failed, and on the contrary, they faced a strong and accordant counterattack. And thirdly, their attempt helped strengthen the unity of the Russian society and helped people understand the deeply-rooted cause of the incident. The essence ofthe incident is that international terrorism, under the false slogan of striving for Chechen independence, attempts to achieve its global intent which runs against the interests of the Chechen people. In fact, the incident is part of a global terrorism network, which aims to separate North Caucasia from Russia. Most Russian citizens, including people living in Chechnya, have now come to realize the real purpose of the terrorists. The work of reconstruction in the political, economic and social fields in Chechnya has started. Social authorities and religious personages in the Chechen republic have proposed to speed up the establishment of legal power organs and the adopting of the constitution. The Russian government is prepared to help Chechnya in these areas.

I think the resumption of normal life in Chechnya has constituted a threat to the terrorists, who have attempted to undermine the peace process. They have failed, however, and their attempt, on the contrary, has pushed forward a political settlement to the Chechnya issue.

Q: You have made great efforts to solve the issue of Chechnya. How the problem do you think can be solved completely?

A: The only way to solve the Chechnya issue is to provide conditions for the Chechen people to adopt their own constitution and to set up a legal mechanism of power. The mechanism of power must have the trust of the Chechen people, who will restore a peaceful life together with the elected leaders. We will push forward along this road. All weapon holders and all those refusingto live in peace life will be held responsible or annihilated.

Q: Do you mean there is going to be a national referendum on the constitution next year?

A: I think it is likely. I have held discussions with representatives from the Chechen republic and the Chechen society.I could tell from their feelings that they planned to complete thepreparatory work within a few months, so as to hold a national referendum on the constitution next spring. I think the process ofpeaceful reform in Chechnya is irreversible.

Q: In recent years, Russia maintained economic growth momentum with gross domestic product (GDP) continuing to increase. What measures do you think the Russian government should take to ensurethe steady economic growth, especially in attracting investments?

A: Of course, a stable situation is a must for attracting investments and creating a sound investment environment. A stable political and economic situation requires farsightedness of the power structure at various levels, the ratification of bureaucratism in decision-making, and calls for a sound administrative environment and a dynamic legal system. We are preparing to head toward the direction. A package of laws has justbeen passed to strengthen the legal system. We will continue to lift the restriction on tax collection with the focus put on tax reduction. But it is the most important to ensure political stability.

Q: Russia's relations with other members of the Commonwealth ofIndependent States (CIS) are one of the priorities of Russia's foreign policy. In the new international situation, will there be any policy change toward them and how do you foresee the prospect of the CIS's development.

A: We do not agree to set a too high measure for the relations between Russia and other CIS countries. But on the other hand, it would be harmful to belittle the significance of our cooperation. We have all established on the basis of the former Soviet Union and Russia has close ties with the other CIS countries in terms ofeconomy, culture, language and history. More than 20 million Russians are currently living in these countries and this big figure itself provides a good explanation. It is not a small number to us. More importantly, most citizens (of course, not 100 percent) of the CIS countries regard Russian as their second mother tongue. The nonexistent language barrier and interdependenteconomic ties between us all require Russia to make it a priority to strengthen its cooperation with these counties. In this sense, whatever external changes will not affect Russia's foreign policy on this priority area.

Q: Belarus and Ukraine said that they are prepared to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), what's your comments onthat?

A: I have just met the president of Belarus and he did not mention to me Belarus' entry into NATO. I believe that the currentmajor threats to the whole world are international terrorism and nuclear proliferation. If NATO wants to better address these threats, the military bloc should not expand as its expansion can not cope with the major threats we face today. On the other point,every nation has the right to decide its priority of foreign policy. A nation has the full right to join an organization if it wants to and we will not make any tragedy on the issue.

Russia now is expanding cooperation with NATO by establishing ajoint council and both sides were satisfied with the cooperation. Russia did not rule out the possibility of further cooperation with NATO provided that the latter gradually changed its function to cope with new tasks and new threats and made its activities tally with Russia's interests. But it is not worth talking about Russia's full entry into the NATO.

Q: Another light question. You have been backed up by the Russian people ever since you took up the presidential post. Whatdo you think are the main factors that help you win their support?

A: You think it is a light question? No, I think it is the most complex one. Maybe my memory does not serve me well, but is there a Chinese saying, which is "not to be born at chaotic times"?We have been living in turmoil for 17 years since 1985. People do not want to see the stagnant phenomena which are quite cruel and depressive. People yearn for stability, the real stability with positive substance. They hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel. They want a better life and hope their children could livea life much better than theirs.

You know, I never give lip-service. I just make missions possible for me and for the government. Not all the tasks have been completed as we have hoped, I should say, and not all the problems resolved. However, people's income is rising in real terms, though at a low rate. At present, there are some individualcases that wages or pension are not paid on time, but they are notthat common compared with two years ago. The real wages of the retired have increased and so are the wages of government employees and soldiers.

We hope that Russia could live in peace and have friendly relations with not only its neighboring countries but all the countries in the world. I think all the Russians will agree with me on the point. At the same time, we hope that our partners couldrespect Russia's national interests.

I think it is this working spirit that wins the favorable comments from the Russian citizens. My colleagues and I would havemade unforgivable mistakes if at that time we just let the opinionpoll decide what should be done and what should not.

In my opinion, if citizens have faith in us, it means that theyare expecting us to accomplish something, that is the marked improvement of their living standard and welfare. Only then shall we have the right to say that we are competent for the tasks facing us.

Q: I met with many officials and civilians when I went to Siberia not long ago. I found that most of them supported your policies, which led me to see that Russian people deeply trust you.These people also hoped for a better life which you promised them earlier, how will you honor your commitment for the future?

A: You are quite right by saying we succeeded in maintaining the economic growth. At the beginning of this year, we predicted that the growth rate would stand at 3.5 percent. Now we have reasons to raise the rate to 4 percent, maybe even higher than that and we are very satisfied with the result. I know Chinese leaders set 7 percent as the goal of China's yearly economic growth rate on the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. If Russia could reach the same rate, our work, we can say, would be a quite success.

Q: You enjoyed respect not only of Russian people, but also of Chinese people. Many Chinese hope to know more of you, would you tell Chinese readers your principle of life and your hobbies.

A: My hobbies are already well-known. I love sports games, but not the Chinese ones. I also want to mention that my two daughtersare learning Chinese martial art and one of them started to learn Chinese. My daughters and I are very interested in Chinese, Chinese culture, literature and history. As close neighbors, we two countries have a long history of cooperation. I hope Russia can develop more interests in China as the relations between the two nations enjoy a positive development.

Q: Although you have numerous state affairs to handle everyday,yet you are still full of vim and vigor. What's your recipe to be so energetic at this midnight moment?

A: Because I love what I am doing and get pleasure from it.

Q: My last question is that have you ever read one of the booksabout you since many books of this kind have been published in Russia? Which one is your favorite?

A: None. To be frank, I never read books about myself as I believe that I understand myself better and more accurately than those writers.

Q: Thank you very much.

A: Thanks.

After the interview, President Putin gave his dedication to Xinhua -- "Wish Xinhua readers healthy, successful and gain achievements in all businesses. With love, Russian President Putin." (Xinhua news)

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