Qin Gang, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, took to his post today to tell eager reporters that Russia's going to be totally fine, despite its recent ridiculous ruble rumble.
"We believe Russia has the strength to overcome its difficulties," said Qin, which was a bit more level-headed than Putin's own pronouncement - and we swear this is true - that Russia will be fine because "The bear never asks permission."
'Permission for what?' you ask. Well it's not entirely clear, but maybe that's just how Vladimir "The Bear" Putin wants it. The ruble hit its all-time low on Tuesday, dropping to a value of 72:1 against the USD. The fast-falling currency even prompted Apple to cease online sales in the country, because it literally wasn't able to determine how much to charge for an iPhone.
Nevertheless, China is confident. "China is aware of the fluctuations facing the Russian ruble, and measures taken by Russia to stabilize the currency," says Qin. That's some crafty wordsmenship - being "aware" is hardly a positive term. If a pilot says he's "aware" that the plane is crashing, you're still a pretty long ways away from being able to breathe a sigh of relief and unclamp your hands from the armrest.
The plummeting ruble could spell bad news for China's recent major deals with Russia, ranging from a pipeline agreement to currency swaps (and various tiger drama). Regardless of the country's financial woes, however, Russia and China's love flows deep: Xi Jinping was just recently voted (just kidding, named) as Russia's 'Person of the Year.' Maybe "The Bear" will be hitting up Uncle Xi for a loan?
Image by Erik Crouch
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