Contacts between young people help strengthen Russian-Chinese partnership - envoy

CHANGSHA /China/, July 16. /TASS/. Closer ties between Russian and Chinese young people will make it possible to strengthen the basis for strategic partnership between the two countries, Russian Presidential Envoy to the Volga Federal District Igor Komarov said in a message read out on Tuesday by Deputy Presidential Envoy Oleg Mashkovtsev at the opening ceremony of the 6th Russian-Chinese Youth Forum titled Volga-Yangtze in Changsha (China’s Hunan province). "Friendship and mutual respect between young people are the basic premise of stable relationship between our countries. That is why we organize joint youth forums as part of the Volga-Yangtze interregional cooperation framework. The first such forum was held in the Samara Region in 2014," the message reads. The envoy noted that a tradition had emerged since then to hold annual meetings in Russia and China alternately to exchange ideas and youth initiatives, get acquainted with cultural traditions, history and modern achievements of the two countries. "The basis for strategic partnership between Russia and China is being shaped and developed thanks to such events," Komarov stressed. He was certain that friendly ties between the participants in the forum would be maintained and developed for many years to come, while young people would preserve fond memories of the days they spent together. Volga-Yangtze project The Volga-Yangtze project was launched by the Russian and Chinese leaders in 2013 to step up cooperation between both countries’ regions. It provides for cooperation in various areas between Russia’s Volga Federal District and China’s provinces located in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The first meeting of the Volga-Yangtze Council for Interregional Cooperation was held in the city of Ulyanovsk in 2016. The project is currently supervised by Russian Presidential Envoy to the Volga Region Igor Komarov and member of China’s State Council Wang Yong. Read more