BEIJING, January 16. /TASS/. The resignation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the remaining Cabinet members will not affect Chinese-Russian relations, Zhao Huirong, a Research Fellow of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, an English-language Chinese newspaper.
She was confident that the move would not influence China-Russia relations, stressing that bilateral cooperation would not be shaken by this domestic reshuffle.
According to the expert, there is speculation about reshuffle after 2024, and Putin is supposedly making succession arrangements.
Other Chinese experts likewise believe that the government’s resignation would not undermine Russia’s political stability.
Putin enjoys high prestige among the Russian people, so the government's resignation won't shake Russia's political stability and Putin's status, the paper quotes Wu Enyuan, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, as saying.
In his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested amending the country’s Constitution, including vesting the State Duma with powers to approve the prime minister, deputy prime ministers and federal ministers.
Putin instructed Dmitry Medvedev’s outgoing government to perform its duties until a new Cabinet is formed. He also nominated Russian Federal Tax Service head Mikhail Mishustin for the position of the Russian prime minister. Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) will hold a plenary session on Thursday to consider Mishustin for the position of prime minister.