China Central Television, or CCTV, has interviewed the host who interviewed Chinese President Xi Jinping in Sochi.
The 42-year-old Russian host, Sergey Brilev, is a senior Saturday Night News anchor for Rossiya channel 1 TV. He is also the deputy director of the channel. Since he joined the media industry in 1990, Brilev has interviewed many top leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron. He is also an expert on international issues.
Brilev says his interview with President Xi lasted for over 40 minutes, breaking the record of his interviews with other leaders. He also said that the face-to-face exchange between the two left him greatly impressed and changed his impression about powerful world leaders.
Brilev said, "I had thought he is a very serious person. I had expected that the Chinese President who leads billions of people is hard to reach. But in my exchange with him, I found him to be a very amiable person with great charm.
"As a country's president, he is very open-minded and sincere. I like his eyes because I saw ideas in his eyes. What impressed me most was his communication with Russian audience. His preparation was sufficient and detailed. His expressions were very smooth and he was pragmatic.
"He also quoted famous sayings of great Russian writers. He recalled How the Steel Was Tempered written by Nikolai Ostrovsky was finished in Sochi. He conveyed his appreciation of Russian people. It also shows President Xi is very familiar with our country."
