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Trump’s trade policy is leading to spiral of ‘endless conflicts and wars’, says Putin

Russian president uses glitzsy economic forum to present common front with Chinese leader Xi Jinping

Oliver Carroll
Moscow
Saturday 08 June 2019 09:45 BST
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Putin says he 'really hopes Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un will manage to renew their contact'

Speaking in his home town of St Petersburg, Vladimir Putin has accused the Trump administration of destabilising the world in pursuit of trade interests.

In comments made at Russia’s annual investment forum on Friday, Mr Putin said “dishonest competition” and US “unilateralism” had already led to the first salvos being fired in “21st-century technological war”.

“The American-imposed model of their domination is the path to endless conflicts and wars,” he said.

Mr Putin’s flagship event, undermined by sanctions and the Kremlin’s own salvos in Ukraine, has in recent years become an increasingly insular affair.

But this year was different, with a guest list that included Chinese leader Xi Jinping and the UN secretary-general António Guterres.

Presenting a common front with the VIPs, Mr Putin said the old global governance had lost its way. He made obvious overtures to his guests. There needed to be a greater role for international organisations, he said; Mr Guterres agreed wholeheartedly. And he condemned US pressure against Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Sanctions were no less than an attempt to “shove [a competitor] from the market”. Mr Xi nodded.

But a trade war pursued by an adversary was an opportunity for Russia, Mr Putin added, saying: “When the tigers fight in the valley, the smart monkey sits and watches how it will end.”

Trade between Russia and China is still relatively limited, and only broke the $100bn barrier last year. But it is growing fast at 25 per cent year on year, and has been prioritised given the geopolitical urgency of a pivot east.

None of Russia's red carpets were spared ahead of the arrival of Mr Xi and his 1,000 strong delegation. The Chinese leader was offered an intense cultural programme. Vladimir Putin took time out to give his “friend” a personalised tour on the River Neva. He showed him the Aurora, the famous battleship that fired the first shots of the 1917 revolution. Mr Xi was granted an honorary doctorship at the local university where the Russian president himself studied and worked.

The Chinese leader responded to the warm gestures with one of his own – reciting “City on the Free Neva”, a Soviet song popularised by Mr Putin. It was a ditty that showed “St Petersburg held a special place in the Russian soul”, Mr Xi said. It was not entirely clear what he meant, but the forum's audience responded enthusiastically.

The plenary session saw a symbolic change from previous years, with organisers dispensing of a western moderator. According to some reports, the switch to Sophie Shevardnadze, an anchor on the Kremlin-funded RT network, was made to ensure a softer tone that was more acceptable to the Chinese guests.

The three-hour session certainly lacked the spark of previous years. The Russian president, usually reliant on a pugnacious front foot, made only two sharp interventions.

The first followed a question about his treatment of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (“He’s good at his profession. Acting”).

The second was a response to criticism over the arrested American investor Michael Calvey (“Read the bible,” he said. “Don’t steal, don’t desire your neighbour’s wife.”)

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Before his contested arrest, Mr Calvey was a fixture at previous economic forums in St Petersburg, remembered for urging foreigners to put their money in Russia. He had tried to attend this year too, but authorities refused.

Mr Putin later modified his comments by saying Mr Calvey was innocent until proved otherwise.

But the hint – and the cognitive dissonance with the very fact of an investment forum – will have been lost on few in the audience.

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