Hot question and answer: What is the influence geometry of the important town of "changing hands" in Russia and Ukraine?

  Xinhua News Agency, Moscow/Kiev, May 22nd Hot question and answer: What is the influence geometry of the important town of "changing hands" in Russia and Ukraine?

  Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Kai, Li Dongxu and Chen Chang

  On the 21st, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that it had completely taken control of Aljomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine), an important town in Donetsk region. The Ukrainian side denied this and said that the Ukrainian army is still fighting in the area.

  Analysts pointed out that whether the control of this important town changes hands is of great symbolic significance to Russia and Ukraine, and the fierce competition between the two sides around the area will continue.

  What is the current situation?

  Russia announced on the 21st that the Wagner organization, a Russian private military entity, with the support of artillery and aviation units of the South Russian Army, has completely taken control of Arcomovsk. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the Russian combat troops for the first time, and promised that all outstanding individuals would receive national praise.

  However, this statement by the Russian side was denied by Uzbekistan. On 21st, Ukrainian President Zelensky, who was visiting Japan, said when asked by reporters whether Uzbekistan still controlled Bakhmut, "Bakhmut is only in our hearts". The Ukrainian President’s Office later clarified that Zelensky meant that although the city was destroyed, it was not completely lost.

  Malyar, deputy defense minister of Ukraine, said on the 22nd that the Ukrainian army still controls part of the infrastructure in the industrial and residential areas in southwest Bakhmut. In addition, the battle between Ukraine and Russia for the "commanding heights" in the southern and northern suburbs of Bakhmut continues, and Russia is replenishing its troops in this direction.

  The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces posted on social media on the 22nd that in the past day, Ukraine and Russia were still fighting in the western, northwestern and southwestern suburbs of Bakhmut, and the outer positions of the Ukrainian army were shelled by the Russian side.

  Ukrainian analysts pointed out that the fighting in Bakhmut has extended to the periphery of the region, and the Ukrainian army has a dense defense system here. Only by completely winning the peripheral "highland" can it be said that Bakhmut can be truly captured.

  Why is it causing concern?

  Located in the northern part of Donetsk region, Bakhmut is a transportation hub on the Ukrainian supply line and an important outpost of the Ukrainian army, with high strategic value. Since August 2022, Russia and Ukraine have invested a lot of troops to compete for this place, and the tragic fighting has continued for more than nine months.

  For Russia, taking this place has opened the way for Russian troops to attack two important strategic locations of Ukraine in Donbass region — — The gateway to Slavyansk and Kramatorsk. According to Russian experts, winning this battle, which takes a long time and is fierce in attack and defense, marks a major victory for Russia on the battlefield and can greatly enhance morale and people’s hearts.

  For Ukraine, holding Bakhmut symbolizes the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian army. In the past few months, the Ukrainian army has invested a lot of troops here, aiming at consuming the Russian army. Some analysts pointed out that Uzbekistan’s delay in counterattack was related to its deployment of troops from other fronts into the battlefield of Bakhmut. According to Washington post, due to the pessimistic assessment of the war situation, US intelligence agencies suggested that Uzbekistan withdraw from Bakhmut as early as January this year. However, Uzbekistan still regards it as an important battlefield. When the war situation was unfavorable to Uzbekistan, the west began to dilute the strategic value of Bakhmut.

  Malyar believes that Uzbekistan has fully completed the preset military tasks in Bakhmut, including attracting Russian firepower, gaining time for other tasks and eliminating a large number of opposing personnel, which has significantly weakened the offensive potential of Russian troops.

  What is the future direction?

  Analysts pointed out that the Ukrainian army urgently needs a victory to boost morale. Recently, Uzbekistan has won a large amount of military aid from the United States and the West. The United States has stated that it will provide advanced fighters such as F-16 and train Ukrainian pilots.

  Military experts believe that there are two main options for Uzbekistan to attack: one is to recapture Bakhmut. Kovalenko, a Ukrainian military expert, believes that Uzbekistan also controls almost all the commanding heights in the northwest and southwest of Bakhmut. Relying on the geographical advantages, the Ukrainian army can launch an offensive from a commanding height; The second is to attack from other directions. Khodakovski, a representative of the armed forces in Donetsk, believes that Zaporoge and other places may become the targets of the Ukrainian army.

  For the Russian side, there are two options in the future in the direction of Arcomovsk: one is to continue to attack Chassovyar and Seversk to the west and north; The second is to clean up the position of Aljomovsk and consolidate the existing achievements. Obukhov, a member of the Russian State Duma and a doctor of political science, believes that the "fall" of Aljomovsk has not affected Ukraine’s strategic reserves and newly-added forces. The Ukrainian army still gathers a large number of troops in its periphery, and it may be the best choice for the Russian army at present to hold its position.

  Russian military experts generally believe that the fall of Aljomovsk may prompt Uzbekistan to launch a long-announced counterattack. Russian military expert Su Kongjin said that there is no reason for Ukraine to postpone its counterattack now.

  Russia’s weekly "Arguments and Facts" issued a document saying that after the conflict situation between Russia and Ukraine in Arcomovsk is clear, the intensity of the two sides in other battlefields may intensify. Russia’s "Moscow Communist Youth League" also reminded that the end of this battle will become a turning point in the future war, and the Russian army should be fully prepared for the "retaliatory counterattack" carried out by the Ukrainian army. (Participating in reporter: Peng Peigen)

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Relax the car purchase restriction, light up the night economy … 20 new measures to promote more prosperous consumption.

  How to fully release the consumption potential? A few days ago, the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Circulation to Promote Commercial Consumption (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), proposing 20 policies and measures to stabilize consumption expectations and boost consumer confidence. Experts said that these 20 measures to promote consumption from the perspective of improving the system and mechanism of consumption growth will have an important impact on consolidating the basic role of consumption in economic growth.

  Relax purchase restrictions and stabilize automobile consumption.

  "The measures to promote automobile consumption in the Opinions will help stabilize the automobile consumption market, thus supporting the stable development of the industry." According to Wang Xiaoming, a researcher at the Institute of Science and Technology Strategy Consulting, Chinese Academy of Sciences, automobiles are large consumer goods except houses, which have a great impact on consumption in the national economy. Stimulating the growth potential of automobile consumption is an important starting point for the steady growth of consumption.

  In July this year, affected by factors such as the switching of previous automobile emission standards, the retail sales of automobile products above designated size decreased by 2.6% year-on-year, and increased by 17.2% in June. "Since last year, the overall automobile market has been sluggish, and there has been the first negative growth in more than 20 years." Wang Xiaoming said.

  In view of the current downturn in the automobile market, the Opinions put forward that the potential of automobile consumption should be released, and the areas where automobile purchase restrictions are implemented should explore specific measures to gradually relax or cancel the purchase restrictions in light of the actual situation; Where conditions permit, give active support to the purchase of new energy vehicles; Promote the circulation of used cars and further implement the policy of completely canceling the restrictions on the removal of used cars.

  Zhao Ping, director of the International Trade Research Department of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, believes that the Opinions promote the growth of automobile consumption from three aspects. "From the perspective of new car consumption, it is proposed to gradually relax or cancel the purchase restriction policy, which will loosen the new car consumption." Zhao Ping said, "From the perspective of second-hand car consumption, the sales volume of second-hand cars in China was close to 14 million last year. Although this is a large scale, compared with the 240 million cars in 2018, the circulation proportion of second-hand cars is still very low. There is still huge room for growth in the consumption of used cars, so the Opinions propose to promote the circulation of used cars. "

  "From the perspective of new energy vehicle consumption, the proportion of new energy vehicles in China in 2018 is only 1.09%, and the base is still relatively small, and the future growth space is also very huge." Zhao Ping said, "Therefore, under the background of declining subsidies for new energy vehicles, it is very timely for the Opinions to give active support to the consumption of new energy vehicles in areas where conditions permit." Zhao Ping said that the "Opinions" have targeted and taken various measures to promote the steady growth of automobile consumption, turning the automobile from a drag factor of consumption growth into a traction factor, laying a solid foundation for the steady growth of consumption.

  "Night Economy" Lights up the Consumer Market

  According to the Opinions, businesses and markets at night should be enlivened, and special catering blocks such as late-night business areas, 24-hour convenience stores and "Midnight Food Store" should be opened. Where conditions permit, investment can be increased to create night consumption scenes and gathering areas, and supporting measures such as traffic, safety and environment should be improved to improve the convenience and activity of night consumption.

  The recently issued Opinions on Further Stimulating the Consumption Potential of Culture and Tourism also points out that the night cultural performance market should be enriched, night catering, shopping, performing arts and other services in cultural and tourist sites should be optimized, and the construction of 24-hour bookstores should be encouraged. By 2022, more than 200 national night travel consumption clusters will be built, and the consumption scale of night travel will continue to expand.

  Zhao Ping believes that the "Opinions" put forward that strengthening the consumption of "night economy" is an inevitable requirement for development. On the one hand, with the improvement of economic development level, the growth rate of per capita disposable income in China has basically kept pace with GDP, ensuring consumption growth. "But on the other hand, the process of urbanization is accelerating, and the pace of life of many people is getting faster and faster, so the time for consumption becomes very limited." Zhao Ping said, "Especially in the daytime, many people squeeze the time of consumption because of their tight schedules such as work, and ‘ Night economy ’ The development of the company provides an opportunity to release the accumulated consumer demand during the day. "

  Zhao Ping believes that the development of "night economy" creates conditions for people to relieve pressure and improve themselves. The purpose is to better serve the daytime economy and better promote the benign interaction between people’s production and life, so that people can find a balance between work and life and have more sense of happiness and gain.

  Let the new format innovate and develop in the norm

  Per capita disposable income’s growth rate slows down, the service sector is in short supply, the circulation link is inefficient and the cost is high … … In the final analysis, many "pain points" in the consumption field should be solved by reform.

  In Zhao Ping’s view, the Opinions issued this time has carried out the idea of expanding consumption by means of reform. By improving the long-term mechanism of consumption growth, making up the short supply of consumption through the reform of "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services", and improving the institutional environment to smooth the circulation channels, consumers can be relieved of their worries, so that they can buy and afford it, and at the same time dare to buy and are willing to buy.

  The Opinions put forward that it is necessary to promote the innovation, transformation and upgrading of traditional circulation enterprises, promote the development of new circulation formats and new models, conform to the trend of business transformation and consumption upgrading, encourage the use of modern information technologies such as big data, cloud computing and mobile Internet, and promote cross-border integration of business travel styles, forming more new circulation platforms, new formats and new models. Encourage the development of "second-hand goods in internet plus" and "resource recycling in internet plus" to promote recycling consumption. Implement inclusive and prudent supervision to promote the healthy and orderly development of new circulation formats and new models.

  Zhao Ping also pointed out that the Opinions mentioned that we should adopt an inclusive and prudent regulatory approach to deal with the regulatory issues of new formats. In fact, we should create a relatively relaxed but standardized environment for the innovation and development of new formats. "The speed of new format innovation is very fast, but the construction of our policies, regulations and standards has not kept up with the pace of new format innovation. Therefore, we need to make up shortcomings in the system, so that new formats can innovate and develop in the norms." Zhao Ping said. (Kong Dechen)