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Russia - Putin: China's experience will allow holding the Olympics at the highest level

Russia (bbabo.net), - On the eve of his official visit to the People's Republic of China, Vladimir Putin answered questions from Shen Haixiong, Director General and Editor-in-Chief of the China Media Corporation.

Shen Haixiong: Dear Mr. President, I am very glad that I had the opportunity to interview you again. First, let me welcome you to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

In February 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping, at your invitation, took part in the opening ceremony of the 22nd Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. It was the first time that a Chinese leader attended a major international sports competition overseas. Then Xi Jinping said: "If the neighbors have a happy event, then, of course, you need to go there to congratulate them on it." Today is a joyful event in China - we are holding the Winter Olympics for the first time, especially during the celebration of the Spring Festival (New Year according to the Chinese lunar calendar). In its bid to host the Winter Olympics, China announced a plan to get 300 million people into winter sports. And even in my small homeland - in the Zhejiang province in southern China - ski resorts are being built. You became the first foreign leader to confirm your presence at the opening ceremony.

In your opinion, what special role does sport play in the neighboring relations between China and Russia, how can our countries strengthen cooperation in the snow and ice culture, winter sports and related industries? What results do you expect from Russian athletes at the Olympics? Can you guess how many gold medals they will win?

Vladimir Putin: We have known President Xi Jinping for a long time and, as good friends and politicians who have largely common views on solving world problems, we communicate closely and often. Therefore, I immediately responded to his invitation to pay a visit to China, to share with Chinese friends the joy of holding the main sports festival of the planet this year - the Winter Olympic Games. Characteristically, this first-ever Winter Olympics on Chinese soil will be held in the midst of the Chinese New Year celebrations in Beijing, the city that for the first time in history has received the right to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

I know that the organizers have prepared well for the Games. We made large-scale investments in sports and transport infrastructure, built modern sports complexes. We created conditions for the safe stay of foreign athletes, coaches, and journalists.

I am sure that such high-quality preparation for the Olympic starts will help the Olympians to show their sports character, to demonstrate their skills and ability to achieve their goals in an honest, uncompromising fight. Of course, we will root for our athletes, rejoice at their every victory, every achievement. But how many of them there will be and what value the awards will be, only competitions will show. And the epidemic situation can affect the participation of athletes, and hence the final results.

Sport is a unique phenomenon of human civilization. And big sporting holidays are called upon to promote rapprochement between peoples, deepen mutual understanding, and promote the universally recognized principle of "fair play." A vivid confirmation of this is the successful holding in our country of such large-scale sporting events as the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Russia has been and remains committed to traditional Olympic values. We oppose the politicization of sport, attempts to use it as a tool of pressure, unfair competition and discrimination. We consider unacceptable the practice of "collective punishment" for the offenses of individuals, which has recently become a common occurrence. And, of course, we strongly condemn the use of illegal drugs by athletes and stand for broad international cooperation in the fight against doping in sports.

The presence in our country of a developed infrastructure, known for its champions and traditions of sports schools, a rich history of sports records, the organization of major international competitions in the country contribute to the involvement of our citizens, especially young people, in physical education and sports. They help to maintain the health of people and the nation as a whole. They form a solid foundation for future sports achievements. We plan that by 2024 the proportion of people who regularly go in for sports will be 55 percent, and by 2030 it will reach 70 percent.As for the ties in the field of physical culture and sports between Russia and China, they occupy an important place in bilateral humanitarian cooperation and are broad and comprehensive. A number of events, including those in winter sports, have become truly iconic. Among them are the Russian-Chinese Winter Youth Games, annual ice hockey matches on the ice of the Amur River between teams from the border regions of the two countries. Exchanges between sports federations of Russia and professional clubs are actively developing. So, for several years now, the Chinese hockey club Kunlun Red Star has been playing in the Russian Continental Hockey League - an agreement on this was reached during my visit to China in 2016. Interaction has been established in the line of junior hockey. One of the matches between the teams of guys from Russia and China, President Xi and I attended in June 2018.

Holding in 2022-2023 the Years of Russian-Chinese Cooperation in the Field of Physical Education and Sports, which President Xi Jinping and I announced in December 2021, will certainly become a significant, striking event in the life of our two countries. Its program includes about 500 different events in the field of mass and youth sports, education, sports science and training. The most successful of them will be transferred to a regular basis.

I am convinced that the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing will be held at the highest level. I wish all athletes, participants of the Olympiad successful performances and good luck, and the guests - bright unforgettable impressions and good mood.

Shen Haixiong: At first, China and Russia considered each other as friendly states, then they established relations of constructive partnership, strategic partnership, comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction. In June 2019, we took them to an even higher level, the level of a new era. On June 28, 2021, during a video conference, you and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the extension of the Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation. How important do you think this is for bilateral relations?

Vladimir Putin: The Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, signed more than 20 years ago, is the basic policy document that laid the legal foundation for the long-term and stable development of Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction. Therefore, on June 28 last year, President Xi Jinping and I jointly decided to extend it for another five-year period.

This is a document that is very profound in terms of its ideas, many of whose provisions continue to be revealed in the current rapidly changing international situation.

Relations between Russia and China are developing on an equal, non-ideologized basis. Our partnership is sustainable, valuable in itself, free from political conjuncture and not directed against anyone. It is based on respect for and consideration of each other's fundamental interests, adherence to international law and the UN Charter.

The atmosphere of political trust, which was formed, among other things, thanks to this agreement, allowed our countries to build an effective multi-level structure of interstate cooperation, in which meetings of the leaders of the two countries play a key role.

China confidently ranks first among Russia's trading partners. Last year, despite the pandemic-related restrictions, bilateral trade reached an all-time high of $140 billion, according to preliminary data.

China is our strategic partner in the international arena. On most issues on the global agenda, our approaches coincide or are very close. We maintain close coordination in leading multilateral organizations and formats such as the UN, BRICS, SCO, G20, APEC, EAC, which has a stabilizing effect on the difficult current situation in the world.

Summing up, I want to repeat once again: the ideas laid down by us in the Treaty on Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation have allowed our countries to reach an unprecedented high level of partnership, qualitatively changed its nature and scale, and created conditions for further joint progress.

Shen Haixiong: If I may, I would like to ask you one last question on behalf of all Internet users and winter sports enthusiasts in China. During an interview I did with you 3 years ago, you were "trying" to play hockey. In fact, your statement was too modest. Last May, in a Night Hockey League game, you hit a puck just 30 seconds into the game and ended up with 8 goals, a level that rivals a professional hockey player. Can you share the secrets of your skill with Chinese hockey fans? Can you guess who will be the first Russian hockey player to score a goal at the Olympics? What other winter sports would you like to master besides hockey?Vladimir Putin: I consider myself not entitled to give any advice to people who are keen on hockey. Let it be done by professional hockey players and coaches. In my opinion, the main thing is that a person goes in for his favorite sport, no matter what, regularly. Persistently and purposefully went to the goal. Then the skill will gradually come.

Hockey in Russia has a long tradition and is very popular. A special place here belongs to the Night Hockey League, created in 2011. Today it is almost 1100 teams uniting more than 20 thousand hockey players from most regions of our country. Many of our famous Olympic champions and world champions are actively involved in the development of this project, for which we thank them very much.

The successes achieved are obvious. Last year, more than 620,000 people played hockey in our country as amateurs. And this number is constantly growing.

I am happy to take part in the League events when the schedule allows. Whenever possible, I go skiing. However, my sports interests are not limited to this. I love biathlon, figure skating, where our athletes are traditionally very strong. I'm interested in ski jumping. True, due to lack of time, I watch competitions only on TV.

Of course, we really hope that our hockey players will perform well at the upcoming Games. Russia has a well-prepared "ice squad" united by team spirit and the will to win. And each of its links is able to be the first to score the puck into the opponents' goal.

There is no doubt that the hockey competitions at the Olympics will be, as always, bright and memorable. We will support beautiful hockey and, of course, we believe in our guys and wish them success.

Russia - Putin: China's experience will allow holding the Olympics at the highest level