PRESS RELEASE
Russian Prime Minister Medvedev on Chinese Television on Linking Silk Road Project with Eurasian Economic Union
Nov. 5, 2016 (EIRNS)—In an interview with the Chinese Central Television (CCTV), Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev spoke of linking the "One Belt, One Road" and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) through various transportation projects.
"If we are talking about linking these two approaches, the direct manifestation of this may be projects connected with transporting cargoes via the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union and via the Russian territory from China to Western Europe,"
Medvedev said.
"These transport corridors, building logistics represent a very important and interesting topic in our view, and several very interesting ideas are being considered now in this regard,"
he said, reported TASS.
"There are also other directions, including using possibilities of national markets, preparing proposals in the sphere of hi-tech and setting up production, as well as a number of other projects which we will try to implement together with our colleagues," Medvedev said. "We are currently working at the government level on how to bring together the advantages of both models. I think it is quite realistic."
"I think that this is a good idea that may obtain a normal, comprehensive economic development, especially in the conditions when several other countries are trying to create large economic alliances,"
Medvedev said in reference to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
"Of course, we don’t mind, there is nothing bad in that. However, it is desirable that all of this happens on the basis of transparent rules, on the basis of principles of the World Trade Organization,"
he stressed.
"This [Eurasian] linkage may in the end transform itself into the project of full-scale trade and economic partnership between the People’s Republic of China and Eurasian Economic Union, with establishment of free trade zones and some other elements of economic cooperation, on which we are working as well."
In the same interview he spoke of re-industrializing Russia through import substitution:
"We are working on import substitution which in essence means re-industrialization, or a new wave of industrialization, because we had to create the industries that we had never had before. This is connected with sanctions and with current economic needs. As a result, new spheres appear."
Among these industries are pharmaceuticals, petrochemistry, high-tech, and IT have become part of the import substitution program.
"This is not the same industrialization that occurred in the 20th century. This is an industrialization connected with developing new economy, new spheres of economy, first of all based on innovations, on IT. These technologies, the IT sphere in itself, became a separate engine of progress, a separate sphere of the economy—a very important sphere,"
he concluded.
