The ongoing "Chinese Language Year in Russia" program has deepened mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

The ongoing "Chinese Language Year in Russia" program has deepened mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, and injected fresh momentum into the all-round bilateral cooperation, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov.

"Leaders of the two countries paid great attention to the program, which shows how important the cultural and people-to-people aspect of our bilateral strategic partnership of cooperation is," Zhukov, also co-chair of the program's organizing committee, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"We can announce in full confidence that the 'Chinese Language Year' has been a success," he spoke of the event, which officially ends on Nov. 24 with a closing ceremony.

So far, more than 200 "Chinese Language Year" events have been staged in 23 Russian regions and covered every aspect of the bilateral cultural exchange, many of which were planned by locals themselves, especially in the Far East, Siberia, Moscow and St. Petersburg, said Zhukov.

After the closing ceremony, more cultural events under the program's framework will run through the year's end, he added.

Exchange and events as such have helped consolidate the foundation of Russia-China strategic partnership, said Zhukov.

From these events, a lot of Russians had a great chance to enrich their knowledge about the Chinese culture, literature, history and modern life, he said.

"The active participation of students at all levels in the events has demonstrated Russian people's growing interest in learning the Chinese language and provided the most obvious example in that regard," said the official.

The "Chinese Language Year" program was not confined to language, as it also upgraded bilateral exchange in science, culture, media, education and cinema, said Zhukov.

"We would take turns to host major events such as cultural days and cultural weeks in our two countries, establishing them as a mechanism. We would help each other in creation of multimedia products, computer games, film festivals, TV series, book publishing, among others," he said, adding that a Russian cultural festival will be held in China next year.

Zhukov recalled the opening of a Russian culture center in Beijing in September during President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to China, describing it as "an important event for bilateral cultural cooperation."

"The center aims at demonstrating Russia's innovative development, as well as its latest achievements in science, culture, education, arts and sports," he said.

Hopefully a Chinese cultural center would open in Moscow in future, he added.

Built upon the principles of equality and mutual trust, the Russia-China relationship is maturing and has great potential for further development, said Zhukov.

The bilateral strategic partnership of cooperation is an all-around relationship that covers all aspects and levels and is in the long-term fundamental interests of the two peoples, he added.

"Thanks to the efforts of the Russia-Chinese commission on cooperation on humanities, cultural cooperation has become one of the underpinnings of the bilateral relations," Zhukov said.

Russia sincerely hopes to expand cultural exchange with China, said Zhukov. "The more civilian sectors join bilateral cultural projects, the more consolidated the basis of Russian-Chinese strategic partnership of cooperation will become."

Speaking of the prospects for cooperation as both nations are enhancing their respective "soft power", Zhukov said the issue is not a merely bilateral one, and it involves collaboration at the global stage.

"Russia and China share the common wish to create a fair and just world order based on the unconditional supremacy of international law, so as to safeguard world peace and promote stable global development," he said.

"Against such background, both Russia and China are trying to tap cooperative potential at deep levels, to jointly take peaceful, constructive and responsible actions, and to establish positive images of both countries among the international community," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2010)