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Mutual interest in culture helps Russia and China boost humanitarian ties, says official

The Institute for China-Russia Strategic Cooperation, founded in 2011, aims at building bilateral cooperation in humanitarian, scientific and technical fields

BEIJING, February 21. /TASS/. Mutual interest in each other’s culture has given new impetus to humanitarian ties between Russia and China, head of the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing Olga Melnikova said, addressing a Russian-Chinese scientific conference organized by Tsinghua University's Institute for China-Russia Strategic Cooperation on Thursday.

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"Russia and China are keenly focusing on boosting humanitarian ties and contacts," she said. "Mutual interest in each other’s culture has become a new growth area, spurring on humanitarian ties between our people," Melnikova added.

According to her, "rapidly progressing Russian-Chinese relations are an example of the most stable, mature and strong ties between any countries in today’s world." "Cultural diversity is an objective reality," she went on to say. "At the same time, dialogue between neighboring cultures is a truly important way of interethnic communication nowadays, while culture becomes a language that the entire system of international relations can be based on," she emphasized.

Chairman of the Institute for China-Russia Strategic Cooperation’s Academic Committee Hu Xianzhang, in turn, said that "as countries with extensive history and culture, China and Russia make incomparable contributions to the advancement of human civilization." "Since Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping call for boosting bilateral cooperation, including in the field of culture and education, Russia and China should continue extending their experience in this area, facilitating mutual exchanges and humanitarian ties," he concluded.

The Institute for China-Russia Strategic Cooperation, founded in 2011, aims at building bilateral cooperation in humanitarian, scientific and technical fields.

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