What's driving the deepening China-Russia relationship?
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Hello and welcome to World Today, I'm Zhao Ying. Coming up, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on China and Russia to work together for the interests of developing countries. We bring you more on his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

China is introducing a new law to promote the private sector. What does this mean for private enterprises in the country? Colombia is planning to join the Belt and Road Initiative. What's behind this decision?

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to work with Russia for progress in the world in the face of challenges. In his opening remarks during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Chinese leader reviewed bilateral ties that are rooted in history and looked ahead to more cooperation.

In the face of unilateralism and bullying by powerful countries in the international community, China will work with Russia to shoulder our special responsibility as a major country and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, safeguard its authority and the safeguarding of the United Nations and the resolutely defined legitimate rights and interests of China, Russia and developing countries.

and also we will work together to promote an equal and orderly, multipolar world and universally beneficial, inclusive economic globalization. President Xi also said China-Russia relations have reached new heights under the strategic guidance of the two leaders.

Xi Jinping is in Russia for a state visit, and he will also attend the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed his Chinese counterpart and highlighted the two countries' mutually beneficial relations. Russia-China relations.

is a very important foundation of the international relations after the end of World War II. As a benefit, our peoples in our two countries are not targeting any third party. Our cooperation is built on equal footing and fairness. It's not subject to any changes in the international landscape. Our cooperation is based on the

comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination that is also the choice made by our people. The Russian leader noted the sacrifice in World War II and said he hopes to take the opportunity of President Xi Jinping's visit to advance cooperation. For more, we are joined by Dr. Alexei Moraviev, Associate Professor of National Security and Strategic Studies at Curtin University in Australia. Dr. Moraviev, thanks for joining us.

My pleasure. So how significant do you think is Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow? And what message does it send to the international community?

Well, I think it's a both symbolic as well as strategic visit. The symbolism, obviously, is reflected in the year during which this visit is taking place. And we need to remember there's going to be a reciprocal visit by Russia's President Vladimir Putin to Beijing to mark

80th anniversary of victory in the Pacific over Japan. And the symbolism of this visit, as well as the following visit by Russia's counterpart, is in the way how both Moscow and Beijing perceive the historical role in Russia's

in effectively defeating both the Third Reich in Europe as well as Japan in the Pacific. The fact that both countries sustained the most devious losses in the Second World War and the fact that both countries want to ensure that their historical memory, their historical narrative remains unchanged because

Certainly when it comes to understanding of the Soviet contribution to the war effort in Europe, questions have been raised about whether it was the Soviet Union that played the decisive role. And certainly this is something that the Russian leadership is very keen to actually enforce and not have any alternative options.

viewpoints on that. And similarly, China obviously wants to ensure that the sacrifices that the Chinese people have made during the Second World War would also be recognized, because in both cases, the two countries appeared from the war not only victorious,

but also countries that began making claims and being perceived as different type of powers that contributed to the creation of the post-Second World War order, and obviously

Given the current state of international affairs, I think both Beijing and Moscow are also working on creating their own concepts and their own understanding of what international waters should really look like, also because the two countries face similar challenges in terms of the current state of international affairs.

Yes. And you mentioned this shared memory between China and Moscow. I mean, how do you think this historical sacrifices of both nations during World War II is continuing to shape China-Russia relationship today?

Look, I mean, we need to remember that Sino-Russian bonds were forged even before the start of the Second World War when China was facing aggression from Japan. It was the Soviet Union that...

provided China with military aid, with military assistance, with military advisors. Soviet pilots fought alongside the Chinese military units that were

fighting against Japan. And certainly throughout the Second World War, both countries engaged in mutual assistance, and certainly the Soviet Union helped China to come out victorious initially in the war against Japan, and later on in the civil war that saw the victory by

by the Chinese Communist forces, which later on led to the creation of People's Republic of China, as well as the Soviet Union was the first country to recognize the newly formed Chinese state. But again, returning back not just to the fact that it was during that time that this

wartime friendship has formed, but also the fact that both countries made such sacrifices that

neither of them are prepared to simply ignore and move on. And they certainly want to ensure that other members of the international community recognize those sacrifices, because in terms of losses per capita, it was the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China that had the most significant losses. And they were obviously, on that basis alone, both countries want to have

appropriate recognition and this is where they're backing each other also with respect to

positioning themselves with regards to the current geopolitical challenges that have been faced. Yeah, talking about the current geopolitical challenges, President Xi highlighted the need to counter unilateralism and hegemonic bullying in global affairs. What specific international challenges or actors might he be referring to? And how do China and Russia plan to address these issues together?

Well, I think both countries understand that, and that's been a long-term understanding. They work towards ending the U.S. global hegemony.

and certainly the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, on one hand, seemed to open up a dialogue between Moscow and Washington, but on the other hand, it's not going to really dramatically change Russia's approaches towards the West and the miscasts that appeared in Russia-Western, Russia-U.S. relations.

over some years. And certainly with respect to China, China and the United States are currently engaged in the terrorist war. And obviously both countries understand that the West may attempt to play either side against the other side. And by that, we can both Moscow and Beijing because

The strategic approach that brings Russia and China together based on the concept of watching each other's back actually allows both countries to pursue their national strategic agendas. And if one side would actually be pushed against the other side, it would not actually benefit either rather than it would weaken

both players, the Russians and the Chinese. So I think there is a pragmatic understanding in both the Kremlin and Tiananmen Square that neither side should not be allowed to be played against the other side. So that's certainly one

one comprehensive agenda. And I think there is also a pragmatic mutual interest in helping each other's continuous growth. China is interested in having secure access to Russia's natural resources, to Russia's raw material, to some select

technologies and obviously having access to Russia's market. And Russia wants China's technology. Russia wants China's commodities and goods, especially in light of the ongoing international sanctions regime that Moscow is facing. And in this sense, Beijing provides Russia's

Russia with an important breather, with a window of opportunity not to feel isolated. And the same goes for China. So both countries' agendas also help them to pursue respective goals for Russia in Europe and for China in East Asia.

Thank you, Dr. Alexey Muroviev, Associate Professor of National Security and Strategic Studies at Curtin University in Australia. China says the country's first fundamental law on the private sector shows the government's support and will improve the legal system and its effectiveness.

An official from the Standing Committee of the top legislative body said the legislation is consistent with China's basic socialist economic system. The private sector promotion law passed at the National People's Congress last month and will go into effect on May 20. For more, we are joined by Chen Jiahe, chief investment officer at Norvamaki Technologies. Why do you think the Chinese government is introducing the private sector promotion law at this particular time?

Well, basically speaking, this is something that we have got for a long period of time. I mean, the news about this law came out quite a long while ago, and we have been expecting this law to be coming out. Basically speaking, if you look at China's economic growth in the past over four decades, you know, it has been like four decades and half since the

the economic reform that were started back in the late 1970s. The growth of China's private companies has been kept on, you know, kept on growing for for this period of time. And the private economy is now much larger than before. So China's government has kept on supporting the private economies, especially in recent years, because you can see that private companies are so important to China's economy in aspects like employment,

technology, all these kinds of things. So this law has been planned for quite a long period of time, and now it's actually coming out. Yeah, and the law has been described as a landmark legislation that for the first time formally defines the legal status of the private economy. So in your view, how does it enhance the private sector's role within China's socialist market economy?

Well, if you look at this law, it basically tells us that the private economy is very important in the country. It really established this importance through a very high legal standard. So this is kind of putting a lot of recognition for the private companies.

Basically, if you look at China's economic structure, we have got quite many public companies for a long period of time, and many of them got a long period of history. But if you look at private economy, it got a history of about four decades. So this is relatively, you know, shorter period of history compared with the public companies. But the development of private economy is really, really strong in this for four decades and five years. So

We've got a very large private economy right now, and this law is just here to help all these private economy and establish their legal status through this law. Well, the legislation addresses challenges faced by private enterprises, such as access to financing, fair market competition, and equitable resource allocation. So could you explain how the law seeks to create a more level playing field in these areas?

Yes, I mean, in many cases, private enterprises, they do face quite many challenges and sometimes discriminations when they are fighting in this large market that China is having. That's basically because, first of all, many of the private companies are actually smaller with their size compared with public companies.

companies, they actually smaller their shareholders are also smaller. They're not that capable with their financing. So that's one very important thing. And the second is that they got shorter history and they're not supported by the like local governments and large state banks. So they're on their own in many cases. So this

caused quite many of the private companies to face some of the discrimination when they're fighting in this market. I mean, Chinese market is really efficient and really competitive. So they do have these problems. And this law just explains that we have to support private companies

equally or even more compared with public companies because of the discrimination that they're facing in many cases. I mean, actually, this is not only appearing in this law. I mean, if you look at the policies that China's government has been given, look at the

kind of financial resources that China has been putting onto the private companies. You can see that there are financial loans and subsidies given to the private companies, and quite many policies have been set to helping these companies. So it's not only this law, but this law is here. I mean, it's a very important landmark.

Okay. The law also emphasizes both encouraging innovation and strengthening regulatory compliance. So how does it balance entrepreneurial freedom with oversight and accountability? Well, the necessary regulation is always very important. I mean, no company

can operate in the business world without any regulation. What this law is trying to address is that, you know, in the matter of regulatory compliance, is that the government shall not, the local governments shall not put too much stress on the private companies regarding the regulation that they are carrying out. They have to treat them fairly and

they have to treat them with the consideration that they are smaller in size. I mean, many of them are smaller in size. They are employing more people compared with the public companies. They have to be aware about all these things when they are carrying out the regulations. And if you look at the innovation, on the other hand, is that private companies are really important for

the technological innovation in the Chinese economy. I mean, if you look at the amount of innovation that they have been making, it's actually, you know, ranking the first place in the economy because private companies, they're much larger with their numbers,

They employ much more people. They are much more flexible with giving people their shares, all sorts of things. So they actually created much more innovation. So encouraging the private economy is really beneficial to the innovation of China's economic growth.

The law includes chapters on investment financing and technological innovation. How do these provisions encourage private companies to contribute to strategic industries in China's modernization goals? Well, when we talk about investment financing, it's the same thing. I mean, in many cases, private companies do face, you know,

less good competitive positions when they are competing with public companies or foreign companies. I mean, if you talk to banks, if you got no policy from the government at all and everyone is equal, there is no supporting policy for the private companies, which in fact there are quite many. So if you don't have any supporting policies for any type of companies,

what type of company would you least want to give your money to and most of the financial institutions would just say if there is no government support then we don't want to give private companies if there is choice if we can give the money to the public companies or foreign large you know multinational uh

So that's basically because of the size. They're much smaller in size. Their industry are not that stable compared with the traditional industries many public companies are in. And they got shortage with storage of things like technology, human resource compared with foreign companies, these kind of things.

they do have disadvantages when we talk about investment and financing. So that's why this law is given particular support to them when we talk about investment financing. And if you talk about technological innovation, it's that if they have enough investment financing, they can produce more technological innovation than we expect. Because if you look at innovation, if you look at these kind of things, they have a

The problem for them is that they have a very high standard of failing rate. I mean, if you talk about companies who work in traditional companies, for example, coal companies, highway companies, and you ask them how many failing rates that you are actually having,

the number will be quite small because they're traditional and they don't work on anything like innovating technologies. But if you talk about high-tech companies, what's the percentage of your failing rate? Then that's very high. But behind this failing rate is that the winning technologies will change our world forever. So that's why the government is trying to support the private companies through the financing, through the investment, so that they can create more technology.

because technology is something important to the society, but they have a higher failing standard that is in many cases, unlike the financial institutions, especially when we talk about banks and insurance companies. So that's why this support is given. And this law is one of the matters among many to support private companies with their financing and investment.

Yeah. And one of the goals is to boost confidence among private entrepreneurs. In your opinion, how effective might it be in countering external pressures such as global economic uncertainties that affect private sector growth?

That will be a pretty good help that is currently really needing by the private companies because as you mentioned, there is a very large global economic uncertainty right now, especially when we talk about the export to the United States and import from the United States. I mean, the tariff is still there. We got news recently saying that

China and US is trying to meet but we just don't know what's going on and for many companies who are deeply engaging into the the global trade they actually affected because of this tariff war that is going on and they are trying to explore other markets for example European markets

European markets, Asian markets, South Asian markets, South American markets, African markets. Many of the Chinese companies are trying to find new markets there. And I think they will be winning because Chinese products are really competitive if you look at

The quality of these products, they're really welcomed in the global market, but that takes time. That takes about six months or 12 months or maybe two years to transfer from a major exporter to the United States to a major exporter to Africa or Europe. So it takes time. And during this time, these companies, especially the private companies who are the main force for exporting, they will face financial difficulties.

Basically, that's financial difficulties. You will have less money, you will have more debt accumulated on your balance sheet and everything. So they need help. So that's why this law is here and many of the other measures, I mean, alongside this law, especially the measures from financial institutions will be helping the private companies during this period.

Yeah, and what implications might this law have for the role of state-owned enterprises? Do you see it as an attempt to balance their dominance or to redefine the relationship between public and private sectors in China's economy? Well, if we look at this law for the state-owned enterprises, or we say the public companies, this law is not aiming at putting any, you know, changing to their position.

in the market. Because if you look at public companies, their status in China's economy is a dominant status. This has never changed and this law will not change that. And many of the, from the business perspective or the financial perspective,

perspective, if you look at these public companies, most of them are dominating in very traditional sectors like oil, coal, steel, highway, airport, these kind of things. Their competitive strength in the business world is also very strong. It's very hard for anyone to compete with them if you look at the business world.

So basically speaking, this law is not there to change the status of the public companies, but what it does is that it's trying to give more support to the private companies and making sure that private companies are treated fairly in the competitive markets. I mean, if they win, then they win fairly, and if they lose, they lose through a fair competition. So this is something that this law is trying to put.

That is Chen Jiahe, Chief Investment Officer at Norvamaki Technologies. You're listening to World Today. Stay with us. You're listening to World Today. I'm Zhao Ying. Colombian President Gustavo Federal has announced plans to sign a letter of intent to join the Belt and Road Initiative.

Badroul indicated that the future governments of his country will decide if this intention becomes a reality. China launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 to enhance infrastructure connectivity and economic integration across the world. Around 140 countries have joined the initiative, including 21 in Latin America.

Janna is Colombia's second largest trading partner. Joining us now in the studio is my colleague, Ding Heng. Thanks for being here. Hello, Zhao Yin. So what do you think has prompted President Petro to openly suggest that he will sign this letter of intent? Well, this is now something that occurs suddenly. According to some of the information I can collect from open media reports,

China extended its invitation for Colombia to join the Belt and Road Initiative in as early as January 2024. And in September 2024, Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo paid a visit to Beijing, where he met with his Chinese counterpart Mr. Wang Yi and China's Vice President Han Zhen.

And at the time, there was some nice discussion about the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Colombian foreign minister later actually confirmed on his ministry's YouTube channel that the two sides had agreed to establish a working group to discuss this particular matter. According to some media reports, this working group included representatives from 18 Colombian ministries. So...

I think in other words, Colombia's interest in the BRI is not new. There is some consensus even within its current administration. So now President Pedro has decided to take a step forward

The BRI is really a public good that China is offering to the rest of the world. China is not setting conditions like this idea. If you want to join the BRI, then you have to do this, this and that. No, this is not the way the BRI is working.

I think any country that has normal diplomatic ties with Beijing can join the BRI. And as you suggested earlier, most countries in South America actually have joined the BRI. This is a bigger trend for the countries in that region. So for Colombia, why not? And in a bigger picture sense, relations between China and Colombia are arguably better

Really at the best moment now since Beijing and Bagota established diplomatic ties some 45 years ago. So if Colombia officially becomes a part of the Belt and Road Network, what do you think that will bring to this country?

Again, judging from open media reports, while China and Colombia have been discussing the BRI membership for the Colombian side, the two sides have also been simultaneously exploring the possibility for a bilateral free trade agreement.

Colombia joining the BRI will certainly add more momentum to the pursuit of a free trade deal, bilaterally. As we said, China is representing Colombia's second largest trading partner.

I can really see great potential for Colombia's development. For example, this country has a US$40 billion portfolio in a socio-economic or ecological energy transition plan. And considering China's competitive advantages in green energy,

I think there are actually huge opportunities for Colombia to attract investment from China. Links and connections are already emerging between Chinese and Colombians. Public or private sector players and barriers to long-term success are being overcome. For example,

A Colombian company, Electron Power and this Chinese company called Sun Grown Hydrogen have already established a partnership to develop green hydrogen projects for Colombia. And I think cooperation projects like this will be further enhanced and facilitated if Colombia becomes a member of the BRI.

So for a long time, Colombia has been seen as one of the United States' closest trade and security partners in Latin America. So how do you look at this idea that Colombia's intention to join the Belt and Road comes as a major boost to China in this battle for regional influence with the U.S.?

From China's perspective, China has no intention really to compete with the United States for the so-called influence in the Latin American region. I know that's how the U.S. has framed things, framed China's presence in that region before.

And I think for Colombia, its partnership with the United States going forward will continue to matter, that's for sure. Since 2022, Colombia has held a status of a major non-NATO ally of the U.S., and for

Between the two sides, between Colombia and the United States, there is also a United States-Colombia trade promotion agreement providing for the gradual elimination of mutual tariffs by the year 2028. But ironically, I don't think the current U.S. President Donald Trump is going to be happy with this agreement with Colombia. Actually, no one needs a reminder about this open spat between Colombia

the US and Colombia over the issue of deportation of immigrants just a few days after Donald Trump assumed office in January because President Pastore rejected two American military planes carrying those deported immigrants. A furious Donald Trump at the time imposed a tariff of 25% on Colombia imports. So,

I guess there is good understanding in Colombia domestically that entire reliance on this partnership with the United States is unreliable and unsustainable. It has to develop ties with other powers as well. There is a broader trend of hedging in Latin America and elsewhere, especially by medium-sized powers like Colombia. But I think for China,

I think no matter what's going on in this U.S.-Colombia partnership, China will always try to approach Colombia with good intention and a mutually beneficial mindset.

Colombia is the rotating president of the Community of Latin American Caribbean States, or CELAC, and China is working closely with relevant parties to prepare for an upcoming ministerial meeting of the China CELAC Forum. That's according to China's foreign ministry. So what can we expect from this forum?

So I think this forum can be understood as part of the broader, ongoing and increasingly institutionalized dialogues between China and the Latin American countries.

I think one thing is for sure for this upcoming event, the two sides will definitely jointly deliver a clear message that China and Latin America are committed to safeguarding multilateralism because the reality is that

If, for example, if a multilateral trading system is undermined by Washington's current unilateral bullying practices, especially on trade, then the damage is there for both China and Latin America. In particular, I think the two sides will talk about agricultural trade and agricultural cooperation as a main agenda or as a main focus because, again,

At a time when China is responding to Donald Trump's tariffs by targeting some American agricultural products, there is actually an opportunity for certain Latin American countries to increase their own agricultural products or exports to China. Okay, thank you, Ding Heng. You're listening to World Today. We'll be back.

This is World Today. I'm Zhao Ying. China's export manufacturing hub in Yiwu saw a 109% surge in exports of Christmas goods in the first quarter. Despite U.S. tariffs, merchants in the city reported minimal impact with booming exports to markets like Europe, the Middle East, and Belt and Road countries.

From Christmas decorations to Halloween toys, businesses are diversifying their customer base and leveraging Yiwu's robust supply chain to maintain global demand. For more, we are joined by Dr. Zhou Mi, Senior Research Fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. Dr. Zhou, thanks for joining us.

Good evening. So actually, despite US tariffs and trade threats under Trump, many EU traders report minimal disruption to their businesses. Why do you think the impact on this export hub has been so limited?

Well, as you mentioned that this is a hub, I think that the hub means that there are so many collections of the different kinds of products. So I went to Yiwu last week and I saw so many people there are trying to look at and trying to find out some products from this market. And it's not only in just one market. I think it's really a big hub for collecting the businesses from around that areas and connecting with a lot of supply chains.

So I think that for the trade, one of the very special ideas is about the relation between the demand and also the supply. So for Yiwu, it's really quite capable of handling the two sides. For the supply side, they are able to provide so many different products in different areas, from toys to a lot of things used for Christmas and also the Halloween.

And they are also addressing some of the concerns from the demand. So they are collecting the information from both sides and trying to make these two sets met in these areas. They are going to meet the diversified demand worldwide. It's not only just focusing on the single market.

Yeah, you mentioned this diversified demand and EU traders, they actually report strong demand from South America, the Middle East and Europe. And they say that now over 60% of their exports are heading to Belt and Road countries. So has this diversification been part of a long term strategy? Or is it just a reactive shift in response to US pressure?

I think that is definitely having both effects. From one side, I think that the United States market is still very important for the consumption. So the consumers in the United States are able to buy a lot of things with a much higher price. So I think that all the suppliers do not want to give up this market.

So they are going to export to the United States from different channels. But on the other hand, I will say that it is also true that the Belt and Road region's countries are growing much faster than before. They have better abilities to handle these different kinds of issues like the uncertainties by connecting with China's market.

So this is really our big change. I think that's for the urbanization and the industrialization in those countries are sped up. So they are able to have a better and more sustainable consumption in the coming years. So for both sides, I think Yiwu is one of the very good choices because people are able to find some very high quality products with comparatively low cost.

you know, competitive prices. So they are really good at providing the things to the different demands based on their really changes about their requirements. Yeah, but Trump's tariffs have raised fears of a broader trade war. So how sustainable is EU's model of relying on these non-U.S. markets to offset the potential losses from the American market?

I don't think that they want to lose the market in the United States, but it is true because the tariffs are there. And I think that Donald Trump is going to put more tariffs besides these reciprocal tariffs. They are going to put more tariffs on the automobiles, on semiconductors or other things like the corpus, different materials. I think it's so uncertain for the

people to try to look at the United States market. So for them, for the people in the EU, I think they are going to improve their abilities on adapting this change of the supply chains. Well, the United States is one of the best markets in the world. It will still be one of the best markets in the coming years, maybe.

So they are going to have a very good consumption abilities. So in this regard, I don't think that the people in China will try to block the trade between us and the United States. We are going to improve that based on the market demand. So if you are looking at all the states in the United States, they really want to have a business with China. So EU is playing such an important role in dealing with that.

So we know that there are a lot of technology are improving, like the e-commerce are trying to connect in different parts of the world together, and it will bring more abilities for the people in EU to meet the demand, including the market of United States.

Yeah, and actually some merchants in Yiwu say that they can absorb higher tariffs either through strong profit margins or by passing the costs on to consumers. I mean, do you think that's really the case in practice?

Well, it is true when there are not so high tariffs, I think that both sides are able to deal with that. But if the price or the tariffs are having a spike in the short term, it is not that easy for both sides to deal with this extra cost.

So temporarily, people will also decrease their demand on some of these products that are not necessary to be used in the short term. But in the long run, I would say that no matter how high the tariff is, I think that trade will definitely still go in between the different parts. It's like the water. You can shape it, you know, the different tariff.

with the containers in different shapes, but actually the volume cannot be changed. So I would say that for the people in Yiwu, they are trying to update their trade patterns with other trading partners, including by introducing more things, not just the smaller products, but also some of this new

innovative ways like artificial intelligence, some of the robots in the homes, I think that really are attractive to so many consumers in the world. Yeah. And there are also reports of EU firms proactively relocating productions overseas in anticipation of the U.S. trade restrictions. So what does that say about the adaptability of China's private exporters? And do you think that strategy is going to work?

Well, it is one of the best choices for the Chinese private sectors. I think that in my understanding, the globalization and the internationalization would be the path for the companies who are going to be a strong one and who are going to be a multinational corporation. So for the companies, including the trading companies, they should try to have better connections worldwide, trying to

have a better understanding about the messages and new changes than using the technology worldwide to address the different and diversified markets demand. So this is the way that EU producers and exporters are trying to improve their abilities. So they are going to not just making some trade, but also to invest in other countries to have

better localization and i would say that is definitely the fact that we are seeing from the the development of the belt and road initiative and other cooperation mechanisms yeah and eu is often described as a barometer for global trade sentiment what does its resilience tell us about the broader state of china's export economy amid the rising geopolitical tensions

Well, many trading partners are looking at the Yiwu index. I think that is really a good thing for us to know that no matter how strong the government is trying to put some policies, the market always has its solutions. So that is the private sectors in Yiwu can give us some experiences that we have to respect the market rules. We are not just trying to rule the rules of the market. We have to

I have to understand that globalization is a trend. It cannot be changed just by the unilateralism. And we still have to believe each other and trust each other, better connections and more activities. That is what we can do with our trading partners, even including the United States. Thank you, Dr. Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. This is World Today. Stay with us.

You're listening to World Today. I'm Zhao Ying. 2024 and 2025 have been designated as the China-Russia Years of Culture. A variety of cultural exchange programs have taken place, including concerts and sports competitions.

My colleague Wang Guan sat down with Russian figure skating stars Evgenia Medvedeva and Elizaveta Taktamysheva to hear their thoughts on performing in China and their experiences off the ice. Evgenia, welcome back to Beijing. Thank you. How many times have you been here? I guess...

It's the third time. The third time? Yeah. Does it feel different this time after COVID, after many years of not being here? Actually, my first time was when it was the...

Olympics during the COVID and Olympics 2022. Yeah, Beijing Winter Olympics. Then after this, I came here for the master classes and I explored everything. So finally I was able to see the city and now it's a totally different feeling because we have a lot of rehearsals and I had no opportunity

yet to see the city once again. So, yeah. I'm sure the organizers will take care of you. Yeah, I'm sure too. How do you like the hospitality and then the warmth that you can feel in the stadium from the Chinese fans? You have lots of followers on Chinese social media, millions. How do you like that?

I like it. First of all, a lot of people was in the tribune when we were skating now. And I'm expecting the same on the second show today. So yeah, a lot of applause, a lot of screams of support. I like it.

This year is the year of China-Russia sports and we have good relations. We're good neighbors. Your president is a big fan of

Winter sports, I'm not gonna talk too much into politics, but this year has been a good year of China-Russia sports communication. That's true. What do you think about and what did you learn from your Chinese skaters and what do you think they have learned from you guys? Well, you know, unfortunately, we're not communicating so much yet with the Chinese figure skaters because during my competitions like

A few years ago, let's say, I was able to communicate only with Sui Han, the pair skaters.

Yeah, and I guess that's it. Maybe Zijun Lugui, the girl from China. And now it's a little bit more difficult because not a lot of Chinese girls speak English. But I think it takes time. So in the future, we will be able to communicate.

Let's talk about your career, if you don't mind, which is fascinating. Yeah, we want to talk about it. Only, you know, it's been fantastic, perfect. Thank you. But many fans would have liked it if you could have grabbed the Olympic title in 2018 in Pyeongchang, Korea. You were so close. And then because of the injury...

to a large extent. I don't think that injury affected on the result because like I did the I did my best like the best short program my best free program so I couldn't do it anymore so it is what it is just I just keep going in my life. You think your 16 year old peer just performed well instead of you not being the best I mean you think you

Did what you could have done at that time, despite the injury previously? No, I did everything that was in my power and that I had to do. So I was like maximum plan and I did the best. But you won everything else. I mean, there are very few...

Twice. I was lucky to win twice. Was it hard to keep the shape and form and keep winning back-to-back world champions? It was so much fun because I had the power. I had the feeling that I can do this. And one time, and even the second time, I was like, here it is.

And I was so lucky that at that time I had no injuries, that at that time I had really amazing skaters around me. So the greatest skaters, such as Mau Asada. A lot of greatest figure skaters were around me that were motivating me. So there was like...

the idols for me and I was lucky to follow them and maybe because I saw them I had such result on the competitions.

In the competitive world of figure skating where Russian prodigy Medvedeva reigns supreme, Elizaveta Takhmatsheva has been a protagone of consistency and longevity. She captivates audiences with her ability to seamlessly wave a compelling narrative on the ice, showing that figure skating is as much about artistry as it is about athleticism.

Lisa, you have a big following in China. To start with, do you want to say anything to your Chinese fans? Yes, of course I want to say that I'm really happy to be here. China is a special place for me because I have a gold medal in the world championships here.

and a lot of gold medals in Shanghai and Grand Prix. And the fans are really great. Every time when I go to China, I have a lot of presents. So I'm really happy that I came to Beijing again and I hope my fans

Gonna join my skating and enjoy every skates. I know it's a very private but are the gifts from the Chinese fans different from gifts of others? Yeah, it's more like Chinese. It's like with the culture they give the presents with like pandas like something like this and when you see the gifts you can understand what this gives from China because it's like I don't know but it's it's good really good.

And then be back to China. How many times have you been to China? Around five times, I think. Five times. How does it feel this time around after so many years of COVID, of not being able to travel here? I have a lot of emotions because I don't travel a lot right now. And go to China, it's like...

New brief for me because it's a big city, big country and it feels a little bit different because yes, we have like COVID and a lot of stuff and now it's a look to this country a little bit different. More emotions and I'm really enjoying. We're going to see a whole lot of events such as this one.

helping each other develop their sports skills, figure skating, ice skating. How do you feel about the increased cooperation between the Chinese and the Russians in sport? I think this is good, that we have helped each other,

We have a good friendship between our countries. And I want to change this. People and sportsmen come to Russia now because now we came to you and after you should come to us. It's too cold. Yeah, it's too cold. Yeah, that's true. Maybe in summer or autumn. So yeah, I think it's work for everybody. Works for everybody. When you were competing, there weren't a lot of Chinese contenders to you, right? Mm-hmm.

At your heyday, the time when you were winning gold medals and the world championships, Grand Prixs, you were mostly facing, if I remember correctly, Russians, your fellow Russians, and then Americans, Koreans. Were there a lot of Chinese contenders that were competing with you at the time, back in the day?

I don't think so. It was like, yeah, Americans and Japanese. After Chen Lu, I think we somehow lost steam. Yes, after Chen Lu, yes. I remember her. She was a good, good athlete. But yeah, we should help.

But I hope now they will grow the new stars of figure skating. Russian figure skating star Evgenia Medvedeva and Iryza Veda Taktamysheva speaking with my colleague Wang Guan.

And that's all the time we have for this edition of World Today. To listen to this episode again or to catch up on previous episodes, you can download our podcast by searching World Today. I'm Zhao Ying. Thank you so much for listening. See you next time.