News – Russian Government

The 26th meeting of the Russian-Chinese Commission on Humanitarian Cooperation was held in Beijing under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova and Member of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Shen Yiqin. Representatives of relevant departments took part in the meeting. The parties exchanged views on the current state and prospects for the development of cooperation in all humanitarian areas. Following the meeting, a number of agreed decisions were adopted, documented in the protocol of the commission.

The 26th meeting of the commission precedes the 30th anniversary regular meeting of heads of government, being one of the important stages of its preparation.

“Relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction between Russia and China continue to strengthen, despite the unstable international situation. They are absolutely not subject to political conditions and demonstrate strong immunity to external influences. We note with satisfaction the traditionally close contacts, especially at the highest level. A confidential dialogue between the leaders of the two countries plays a key role in promoting the entire range of Russian-Chinese ties,” emphasized Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova.

The current year is marked by the 80th anniversary of the common Victory over German Nazism and Japanese militarism.

“We consider the decision of our leaders to jointly celebrate the anniversary of the Great Victory in Moscow and Beijing as deeply symbolic. In the modern world, our countries fulfill a common mission – they are responsible for preserving the historical truth about the events of the Second World War and passing it on to the younger generation,” said Tatyana Golikova.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that it is important to consistently work on progressively increasing humanitarian contacts between the two countries. The strategic directions of their development are reflected in the “road map” of Russian-Chinese humanitarian cooperation until 2030, adopted by the heads of government in Bishkek in October 2023. The implementation of the programs and projects provided for in this document is carried out as planned.

Thus, active cooperation in the field of higher education continues between Russia and China. Within the framework of bilateral cooperation, a significant achievement was the increase in the scale of academic mobility. The number of Chinese students studying in higher education programs in Russia has exceeded 56 thousand. At the same time, more than 20 thousand Russians are studying at leading universities in China.

“Inter-university cooperation is actively expanding, including in the area of ​​creating joint Russian-Chinese universities and institutes. The flagship here is the joint Russian-Chinese university in Shenzhen. It has 10 faculties, with almost 5 thousand students studying. There is a complex of research and educational centers. The opening of the MPEI-Hainan University is planned for 2026. We believe this event will become one of the key events in the upcoming Years of Education,” noted the Deputy Prime Minister.

The other day in Chongqing there will be a launch ceremony of the 35th joint educational institution based on the Far Eastern Federal University and Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications. This project involves a double degree program in information technology and computational mathematics.

Chinese students’ interest in the Russian language and culture does not decrease. The international project “Russian Teacher Abroad” is being successfully implemented, and centers for open education in Russian and Russian language teaching at Chinese universities are operating effectively. Cooperation in the field of teacher education is developing.

Cooperation in the field of healthcare remains an integral element of Russian-Chinese relations. Such important areas of cooperation as disaster medicine, supervision of the circulation of medicines, and infection control are developing dynamically.

“The digitalization of healthcare seems to be a promising area of ​​interaction. An important step was the signing in September of this year of an interdepartmental Memorandum of Understanding in the field of digital transformation of healthcare. The document lays the foundation for joint work on the implementation of advanced information solutions, the creation of intelligent healthcare systems, and the development of telemedicine,” said Tatyana Golikova.

Every year, about 500 Chinese specialists participate in scientific and practical events in the field of medicine organized in Russia.

One of the most promising areas of bilateral cooperation remains the fight against cancer. Over the past year, leading oncology centers in Russia have established partnerships with six oncology institutions in China. At the same time, the demand for Russian medical education among Chinese citizens is growing. More than 1,500 Chinese students are studying at our universities.

An important component of the partnership between Russia and China is cooperation in the field of culture.

“The Years of Culture of Russia and China are coming to an end. This year, the leitmotif of cultural events was the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the War of Resistance of the Chinese People against Japanese Aggression. Currently, the Russian side has implemented more than 170 events. One of the brightest events was a large-scale exhibition of masterpieces by Ilya Repin at the National Museum of China, emphasized Tatyana Golikova. “The closing ceremony of the Years of Culture of Russia and China is planned for November this year at the State Tretyakov Gallery, where a unique exhibition of calligraphy from the National Museum of China will take place, as well as a joint concert of Russian and Chinese performers.”

The tradition of holding a library forum, as well as a Culture and Art Fair, continues. It has become a good tradition to hold exchange festivals of national cinema.

A special place in the structure of Russian-Chinese humanitarian ties is occupied by tourist exchanges, which are traditionally characterized by high rates. According to Russian statistics, in the first half of 2025 the total tourist flow amounted to 1.4 million trips, which is 20% more than the same period last year.

Particular importance is attached to the development of partnership with China in the field of sports. Cooperation between the sports federations of Russia and China is steadily developing. In 2025, more than 2.5 thousand Russian athletes and coaches are planned to travel to China to participate in competitions and educational and training events in more than 40 sports. This figure is double that of last year.

A striking example of a mutually beneficial partnership is the Russian-Chinese Winter and Summer Youth Games. The IV Russian-Chinese Winter Youth Games were held in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in January 2025 with great success. Active preparations are underway for the X Russian-Chinese Summer Youth Games, scheduled for May 2026.

One of the most important areas for the development of bilateral cooperation is mass communications. The popularity of Russian resources in China and Chinese in Russia is growing significantly. Thus, over the current year, RT videos received an average of 211 million views per month, and Sputnik China became the first and only foreign media outlet to launch a mini-application in the Chinese WeChat messenger. Agreements on the development of contacts were signed by Gazprom-Media Holding with the Xinhua News Agency, and the National Media Group with the Media Corporation of China.

Contacts between archival institutions are successfully developing, which in turn helps to expand access to retrospective information and popularize archival documents about the history and development of Russian-Chinese bilateral relations. Joint historical and documentary exhibitions and publications are being prepared. In particular, the publication of correspondence between J.V. Stalin and Mao Zedong is being jointly prepared.

Russia and China continue to strengthen bilateral youth cooperation. This year, special attention was paid to the sphere of moral and patriotic education of youth. A striking example is the tour of youth and youth choirs of Russia and China “Handing Hands!” and the educational program “Russian as a Foreign Language” based on the Mashuk Knowledge Center. Russian and Chinese delegations of young leaders actively take part in large-scale youth events in the two countries.

By decision of the heads of state, the next two years – 2026 and 2027 – will be declared the Years of Education.

Following the meeting of the commission, the following documents were signed:

1. Minutes of the 25th meeting of the subcommittee on cooperation in the field of education.

2. Minutes of the 25th meeting of the subcommittee on cooperation in the field of health care.

3. Minutes of the 25th meeting of the subcommittee on cooperation in the field of sports.

4. Minutes of the 18th meeting of the subcommittee on cooperation in the field of media.

5. Minutes of the 18th meeting of the subcommittee on cooperation in the field of cinematography.

6. Minutes of the 15th meeting of the subcommittee on cooperation in the field of youth policy.

7. Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Russian Federation) and the All-China Youth Federation (People’s Republic of China).