China-Russia youth dialogue charts new friendship course

The New Era China-Russia Youth Dialogue was held in Beijing on Sept 18, bringing together Chinese and Russian scholars and young representatives to deepen exchanges and chart new paths for cultural and educational cooperation between the two countries.

Li Xuesong, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Li Hai, Party secretary of Beijing Foreign Studies University; and Igor Pozdnyakov, education counselor at the Russian embassy in China, delivered opening remarks. Denis Ashirov, state secretary and deputy head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, addressed the forum via video link.

“Youth are the most vibrant and enduring force sustaining China-Russia friendship across generations, and they are also practitioners who discern trends and blaze new paths amid global changes,” Li Xuesong said. He called on young people of both countries to strengthen mutual trust, contribute to the modernization of both countries, act on the Global Civilization Initiative, and champion multipolarity and a new type of international relations.

Ashirov said in his video address that young people play an important role in the development of Russia-China ties and in shaping the world’s future. He noted that deeper people-to-people connectivity is key to steady development of bilateral ties, and the dialogue will help consolidate youth cooperation, deepen education coordination and inject new vitality into all-round cooperation.

Reviewing the growth of bilateral ties, Li Hai noted that people-to-people and cultural cooperation has always been an important pillar for the steady development of China-Russia relations. He called for closer educational cooperation in cultivating talent for all-round bilateral ties, strengthening youth bonds between the two sides and forging new models of collaborative innovation in the age of artificial intelligence.

Pozdnyakov highlighted the steady expansion of two-way educational exchanges, describing think tank research and academic linkages as key supports for deepening bilateral cooperation. “Russia looks forward to stronger strategic collaboration with Chinese academic institutions,” he said.

The dialogue included panel discussions on three themes: strengthening strategic mutual trust, empowering mutually beneficial cooperation and advancing people-to-people exchanges. Participants agreed that young people in both countries should deepen academic exchange and sustain the friendship through regular dialogue and practical cooperation.

The forum was co-hosted by the CASS Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies, BFSU and the National Institute for Global Strategy, CASS, and co-organized by the CASS Belt and Road Research Center, BFSU School of Russian Studies and the CASS Center for Russian Studies.