No one has canceled globalization of Russian economy, refusing to be open carries risks of living standards falling - minister
ST. PETERSBURG. June 17 (Interfax) - Russia is not planning to close its economy and will continue to be a part of global division of labor chains, and no one has canceled globalization of the economy, as that would risk standards of living, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said on Friday at Sberbank's The Russian Economy: How to Build the Bridge to the Future? Sber Business Breakfast part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"When we talk about the new economy, we need to determine - what are we doing with this track going forward? Are we still betting on national capital? Are we still staking on building an open economy? Yesterday, some of the speakers said in passing that we've been playing at globalization for a while, that we've been deceived a bit and let's deal with internal matters more. But it seems to me that this isn't a very correct position. Yes, we've been deceived in places, we just need to set up our own rules in globalization, play by our rules, but no one is canceling globalization," Reshetnikov said.
"This structure [of the economy and exports] will change, of course, [by 2030]. But are we about dreams or plans right now? We can dream dreams right now, that exports of machinery and equipment will match exports of mineral resources, but we understand that's not the case. We can objectively effectively produce and supply mineral resources, metals, chemicals, and so on. We exist in these chains, and whatever we say, that's our involvement in the global division of labor. We're not abandoning it, because that would mean a cardinal decline in quality of life," Reshetnikov said, voicing the risks of potentially closing the economy.
"We're going to be part of these chains, and therefore, we need to further work on that which we can do effectively. And we need to look for other partners, including for the import of machinery and equipment. Yes, it should go down, we should have our own technology, but that doesn't mean that we can produce the entire line of all technologies for a market of 220 million people, if we take the whole Eurasian space with our colleagues, who are observers, who are ready to integrate, and so on. But that isn't enough to even produce and fully guarantee return on investment on a midrange airplane exclusively based on the market. It will even have to be subsidized, and by global standards, it's not the most complicated product at the moment. So it seems to me, let's dream about anything, but plan realistically," he said.
"We need to answer these questions for ourselves. And it will by and large be clear what kind of new economy we have based on that. We're currently working on strategizing - where priorities will be, what needs to be emphasized. But if we don't answer these questions for ourselves about what kind of economy we're building, we won't bear out commitment to what we have been doing the last 20 years and what has proved effective, and we'll end up in some kind of uncertainty. If we bear it out, then it will be clear that the government doesn't need to climb into every sector, every technology with import substitution and subsidize everything for business, as we currently have immense interest. Whatever the problem, it's immediately 'let's provide subsidies.' We'll just create normal conditions for real business, and we're not going to bother it. And then everything will get going," Reshetnikov said.
"And in addition to this, let's not shy away. We have national projects, infrastructure development programs, programs for the development of the regions - there's no need to say now at the moment, I'll give a pass to [Finance Minister] Anton Germanovich [Siluanov], that there's no money and let's cut everything. Let's calmly implement that which we have started. At the end of the day, it's investment in our own country, and it will definitely pay off in any case," he said.