‘Information terrorism’ and a cartoon about ‘Little Duck Angel’ Takeaways from the July 4 meeting between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping
Ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg, where Vladimir Putin will meet with President Donald Trump for the first time, the Russian president held a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Meduza summarizes the rather interesting results of this encounter.
Russia will begin shipping gas to China by 2019.
During Xi Jinping’s visit, officials announced the launch date of the “Power of Siberia” pipeline, a major pipeline that will supply China with Russian gas. According to the head of the Russian gas giant Gazprom, deliveries will begin on December 20, 2019. The pipeline will be more than 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) long, though only 800 kilometers (497 miles) have been constructed, so far.
Moscow and Beijing also announced the creation of a joint investment fund that will allocate up to $10 billion for various projects.
Russia is launching a television network in China, and it’s not RT!
The Russian TV network Pervyi Kanal has reached an agreement to begin broadcasting a new station called Katushka. The first programming is expected to hit China’s airwaves before the end of the year. Chinese viewers can expect to see Soviet film classics, as well as subtitled Russian comedy shows like “KVN.”
A spinoff based on the Russian children’s show “Kikoriki” is also headed to China.
Based on characters from the animated show “Kikoriki,” an adaptation called “Rabbit and Panda” is in production for the Chinese market. Over the next 18 months, 52 twelve-minute episodes are planned.
Another joint Russian-Chinese animated show called “Little Duck Angel” is also in production, and a theme park is already under construction in China. Russia’s Civic Chamber, which is co-producing the cartoon, has ordered 100 episodes. The show will feature allegories about Russian-Chinese friendship and cooperation.
Russia and China, it turns out, are the main victims of the news media’s “information terrorism.”
Addressing both Putin and Xi Jinping, the chief editor of the Kremlin-controlled news outlet Russia Today, Margarita Simonyan, said, “No one elected the Fourth Estate, nobody granted it the power to decide people’s fate, but they do this, nevertheless.” Simonyan went on to admonish the aggressive policies of “certain countries” allegedly “served” by the world news media, arguing that Russia and China have been the main victims of this “information terrorism.” “In such conditions, we simply must stick together. This isn’t just a question of cooperation, but survival,” Simonyan said.
Both Russia and China “condemned” North Korea.
Hours before Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow, North Korea conducted an unprecedented test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching anywhere on Earth. Putin and Xi Jinping both expressed concern, but they urged all parties, not just North Korea, to practice greater restraint.
Moscow and Beijing call for a freeze of North Korea’s nuclear missile program, but also want an end to joint the military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later repeated Moscow’s position that the nuclear disarmament of North Korea should not be used as a pretext to effect regime change.
A special award!
Putin awarded Xi Jinping the Order of St. Andrew, the highest order of the Russian Federation, for “special service in the development of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” between China and Russia. “I would like wholeheartedly to wish you, respected Chairman Xi Jinping, the very best success, health, and wellbeing, and to the Chinese people: peace, stability, and prosperity,” said President Putin.