Russia hopelessly lost to China both economically and geopolitically

As you know, during the reign of Putin, incomes and living standards in Russia have grown exponentially: for example, the nominal salary - more than 20 times in rubles and more than 10 times in dollars. True, prices have grown more than 7 times during this time, so the real growth is much more modest. But it still exists, despite the losses of recent years.

However, everything is learned by comparison.

Analyst Maxim Averbukh writes on his blog:

“In 2019, the average salary in the cities of China, where the majority of the population lives, reached $ 995 “dirty”. From it: - minus $ 25 personal income tax - minus $ 80 pension payments - minus $ 4 social insurance - minus $ 99 deductions to the personal account of housing savings Total "on hand" - $ 787. In the village - $ 220 . At the current exchange rate, this is 17,000 rubles, which, according to Putin, already has a middle class.

In Russia, according to Rosstat, the highest average salary was recorded in June 2020, when it amounted to 52,213 rubles, which at the current exchange rate of 77 rubles per dollar is $ 678 . But at least 10% should be subtracted from it - according to the statement of the head of the Research Institute of Rosstat in an interview with Vedomosti, Rosstat claims the average salary in the corporate sector as the national average. And from the rest, we should subtract 13% of personal income tax and we get that, according to Rosstat, a Russian on average receives $ 530 in his hands. (It is better not to translate this amount into rubles, because the absolute majority of Russians will say that they do not have anywhere near 40,900 rubles a month "on hand").

Russia and China started in 2000 with the same values, in Russia the average salary was $ 60 , in China - $ 50 . Today we have: - in huge China, with a population of 10 ( ten ) Russia, the average salary "on hand" is $ 787 - while China imports oil and gas, not exports - while prices in China are on average 15% lower than in Russia, but we will not take this fact into account - we "forget" about the $ 99 per month that a Chinese forcibly deducts to his personal mortgage account and which he will eventually use as the first installment on a mortgage - in Russia, with all its exports oil and gas - good if $ 530.

Over 20 years, more than $ 7 trillion has been received from exports to Russia. And despite this, the difference in wages "on hand" between Russia and China is $ 787- $ 530 = $ 257 per month. Those. salaries in Russia are 32% lower than in China! Thus, a Russian earns on average $ 3000 less per year than a Chinese..."

Network analyst Andrey Nalgin writes about this:

“These $ 3,000 a year of lost average wages can be considered losses . But not only.

For 20+ years, China has managed to build a modern diversified economy, where the high-tech industry is already competing with the American one. Where there are already several universities in the Top 30 of the world ranking. Where there are rockets, and space, and an atomic bomb, and microelectronics (which is practically absent in Russia), and so on, and so on, and so on. And Russia, as it was oil-dependent, has remained. Although three or four Russia could be built on $ 7 trillion in export earnings! True, without geopolitical ambitions...

But now the time has already passed. Probably hopeless..."

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Analyst Ruslan Gorevoy writes about the fact that China is already so cramped within its borders that it is slowly but steadily taking over everything around him:

“They took us into the ring - and who are our strategic partners! Chinese consultants advise Alyaksandr Lukashenka to suppress protests as harshly as possible - and he follows their lead. Volodymyr Zelenskyy sells two-thirds of Ukrainian state-owned enterprises to the Chinese. And the Tajiks - even more so, give Beijing part of their territory for debts. It turns out that it is China, not Russia, that dominates the post-Soviet space? And what will happen next - they will strangle us in a brotherly embrace?

It is not even clear why propaganda assures that it is the West that is creating a “cordon sanitaire” around Russia. Take a closer look. In Ukraine, the Chinese are massively buying out state assets. It was only in Zaporozhye that they, perhaps, stalled, because in addition to them, the Americans had an eye on the strategic enterprise Motor Sich. At the same time, Beijing credits Belarusians, disrupting Moscow's cunning game of forcing the Old Man into an alliance with Russia. And even in Moldova, it is China that dictates to President Dodon which industries to develop and which not. Thus, Moldovans became one of the largest suppliers of beer to the Celestial Empire, although they always specialized not in beer, but in wine. True, the Chinese did not like the Moldovan red, and the Moldovans had to brew beer for the Chinese.

But the most egregious story of the Chinese in the post-Soviet space happened with the Tajiks. In early May, the Chinese army occupied part of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) of Tajikistan, the Murghab District. By the way, have you heard anything about this? About that and speech - the TV is silent about this as dumb. Not to say that it was an armed annexation, not entirely. It's just that Dushanbe voluntarily and forcibly transferred part of its territory to Beijing to repay its external debt. Remember this plot. For it will most likely repeat itself more than once ... "

Sociologist Sergei Belanovsky also writes that Russia is hopelessly losing to its “friend” China not only in the economy, but also in geopolitics:

“Russia is driven into a geopolitical impasse. Having quarreled with the West and constantly aggravating the conflict, she chose China and Turkey as friends. Turkey - okay, it is a regional player with overestimated ambitions, although it can do something wrong. But China is serious. Having chosen a superior power as an allies, one does not need to be seven inches in the forehead to understand how it will end. And they were warned many times.

The policy of "befriend China against the West" will end with China and the West tearing Russia apart. After the outbreak of a new Cold War, there will be no mercy from the West, but from China ... In addition to weapons and growing economic power, it has one more weapon - ancient Chinese philosophy. Yes, in many respects it is inferior to the Western one, in particular, in terms of logic and science. But the art of hybrid warfare, blackmail, diplomacy can be learned from the Chinese. And the ability not to rush too. Putin essentially lost all negotiations with China, but the Chinese wisdom is that they made him feel like a winner.

Back in the 90s and at the beginning of the 2000s, there was a lot of talk about the fact that Russia should use its intermediate position between the West and China, balance, and not be friends with one side against the other. They didn’t listen. Well, now ... "