China, Russia to launch youth exchange program

BEIJING - China and Russia will each send 10,000 students to visit the each other's country as part of China-Russia Youth Friendly Exchanges Year, Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Yandong said on Tuesday.

Liu told reporters on the sidelines of the China-Russia heads of government meeting held in the Great Hall of the People, "We will launch a youth exchange program that involves 100 schools and 10,000 students from each country.

"We will earnestly plan and prepare for the opening ceremony of the youth year to be held in Russia next spring," she said.

Liu said both countries have already set up an organization committee for youth year events. The two sides have drafted a list of activities and presented it at the heads of government meeting for approval, Liu said.

"We will earnestly implement all the consensus reached at the meeting and seize the opportunity of the youth year to increase friendly cooperation, cultivate friendship and advance the China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in a sustained and healthy way," Liu said.

During Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia in March, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a consensus to hold the China-Russia Youth Year of Friendship Exchanges in 2014 to 2015.

Liu named a number of areas for increasing cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Russia, including education, culture, public health, sports, tourism and media.

She said the two countries will encourage one million students of both sides to engage in online interactions. China will support the establishment of Russian language centers in Confucius institutes in Russia so as to train Chinese-Russia translation students.

The two sides will strengthen cooperation on the construction of a memorial building marking the convention of the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Russia, Liu said. The meeting was held in Moscow in 1928.

She said the two countries will cooperate on the Sochi Winter Olympic Games to be held in Russia in February.

The two countries will also combine tourism with the exchange of students and prepare for the sixth China-Russia Youth Games, Liu said.

She added the two sides will encourage the media to have extensive coverage of the youth year activities, noting the two countries will hold a historical document exhibition in St Petersburg next year.