Also, Russian scientists, artists and entrepreneurs have swarmed to China for exchanges and businesses in their particular areas of expertise.

Thanks to the Russian Culture Festival, the Exhibition of Russia's Higher Education, the Chinese-Russian Forum on Co-operation in Science and Technology, the Week of Moscow and the Week of St. Petersburg, the Chinese are able to get a look at the brilliant Russian culture at close range and have a better idea of Russia's history and its development in contemporary times.

The China-Russia trade volume this year is expected to hit US$36 billion, a record high. At this pace, the goal for bilateral trade to reach between US$60 billion and US$80 billion by 2010 is expected to be met ahead of schedule.

Through years of efforts, 68 pairs of Chinese and Russian cities or provinces have become sister cities or provinces. Co-operative ties have been forged between 500 Chinese and Russian higher-learning institutions. Next year, a number of Confucius institutes will be founded in Russia.

During the Year of Russia, the two sides have strengthened their co-operation in international affairs. China and Russia, for example, act in well-orchestrated steps on the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, with both insisting on assuring a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, pushing for peace and stability on the peninsula and prompting that the Korean nuclear issue be put back on the track of the six-party talks.

The Year of Russia signifies that a new type of nation-to-nation relationship has taken shape between China and Russia. It is manifested by the following phenomena.

First, the two countries place their relations on the grounds of common needs and interests.

Both countries are, in a sense, in the transitional period, committed to reform and national revival. Both Chinese and Russian reforms are orientated to expanding co-operation with the international community, raising productivity and boosting science and technology. On this basis, the overall national power will be strengthened and people's livelihood improved.

As close neighbours, both countries follow the five principles of peaceful co-existence in handling bilateral relations, which are non-aligning, non-confrontational and not targeting a third party by nature.

Also, the two countries vow not to allow ideology to get in the way of the bilateral relations.

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