Tatiana Golikova held a meeting of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation at SPbPU

On October 19, at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, the 27th meeting of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatiana Golikova and Member of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Shen Yiqin. The event was attended by Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Konstantin Mogilevsky, Rector of SPbPU Andrei Rudskoi, and representatives of relevant ministries and agencies of the two countries.

Holding thematic years between Russia and China has become a stable and positive tradition. For twenty years now, this effective instrument of interaction has made it possible to strengthen both the social and spiritual foundation of Russian-Chinese relations, the friendship and mutual understanding between our peoples, Tatiana Golikova said in her welcoming remarks. The meeting of our commission is being held on the eve of the main event on the track of Russian-Chinese intergovernmental dialogue — the 31st regular meeting of the heads of government of our states. I expect that the proposals and agreements developed within the framework of today’s commission meeting will make a substantial contribution to the implementation of the tasks set at the highest level and to the further strengthening of Russian-Chinese humanitarian cooperation.

Humanitarian ties are the solid foundation of the centuries-old friendship between our countries and the rapprochement of our peoples. Building on the experience of our millennia-old cultures, we are keeping pace with the times, expanding channels of interaction, and strengthening political trust and trade-economic cooperation, noted Shen Yiqin.

Welcoming the guests, Alexander Beglov emphasized: For us it is important that the meeting is taking place in our city. Petersburg consistently develops relations with the People’s Republic of China. We have accumulated extensive experience of cooperation with six cities and regions of the PRC. For many years, China has been our largest trading partner. More than 800 Chinese companies operate in the city. Today China is the leader in the number of foreign tourists arriving in Petersburg. About 12,500 Chinese students study at higher education institutions in Petersburg — over ten years their number has grown three and a half times. Universities and scientific organizations have concluded more than 800 agreements with partners from the PRC — these are joint educational programs, scientific research, and exchanges of teachers and students.

Commission members discussed a range of issues related to the development of bilateral relations in the humanitarian sphere. Konstantin Mogilevsky delivered a report on cooperation in the field of education.

Deputy Chairman of the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China Shen Hongbing spoke about cooperation in the field of healthcare.

Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Andrey Malyshev delivered reports on cooperation in the sphere of culture and cinematography.

The speech of Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China Wang Jianhua concerned cooperation in the field of tourism.

Deputy Minister of Sports of Russia Alexey Morozov dedicated his report to the development of sports ties between the two countries.

The speech of Deputy Head of the National Radio and Television Administration of China He Biao was devoted to interaction between media representatives, while the Head of the State Archives Administration of the PRC Wang Shaozhong highlighted issues of cooperation in archival affairs.

Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Grigory Gurov delivered a report on cooperation in the sphere of youth policy.

Summarizing all the speeches, Tatiana Golikova summed up the results of the work over the period since the twenty-sixth meeting of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation.

A landmark event that opened a new chapter in the history of our educational ties was the historic decision of the leaders of our states to hold the Years of Russian-Chinese Cooperation in the Field of Education in 2026−2027, recalled Tatiana Golikova. Since the launch of this large-scale project, more than 90 events have been implemented within the Russian agenda. The Year of Education has received a lively response in all our educational institutions. We are pleased to observe how student mobility indicators are increasing and ties between universities of the two countries are strengthening. And this is confirmed by the number of bilateral cooperation documents — there are already more than seven thousand of them.

The Deputy Prime Minister separately noted that the number of Chinese students studying at Russian medical universities has grown almost 10-fold over the past 10 years.

Tatiana Golikova summarized the experience of multilateral humanitarian cooperation: the expansion of the study of literature of the two countries, fruitful dialogue in the field of culture and cinematography, the exchange of exhibition and theater projects, interaction in the sphere of healthcare, sports and tourism.

The introduction of a visa-free regime contributed to the growth of mutual trips. In the first half of 2026 alone, the tourist flow between the countries grew by one and a half times. To consolidate this success, the commission proposes to increase the number of flights between cities of Russia and China and to stimulate automobile tourism.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the prospects for partnership in the field of artificial intelligence and new media technologies, and also noted successes in the implementation of projects along the lines of youth policy, and the high interest of Russian and Chinese youth in participating in major events on the territory of both countries. In 2026, the number of participants exceeded 700 people, which is almost twice as many as last year.

Concluding her speech, Tatiana Golikova thanked Shen Yiqin for supporting the initiative to create a new subcommission — on cooperation in the social sphere. It will deal with issues of social security, birth rates, support for the elderly and people with disabilities.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatiana Golikova and Member of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Shen Yiqin signed the Protocol of the 27th meeting of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation.

Protocols of the meetings of the subcommissions on cooperation in the field of education, culture, cinematography, healthcare, tourism, media, archival affairs and youth policy were also signed.

After the ceremony, Tatiana Golikova and Shen Yiqin made statements to the media, in which they highlighted the key results of the work of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation.