SHANGHAI, May 23. /TASS/. Moscow and Beijing should focus on developing cooperation in the sphere of high-technology sports, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at the Russia-China Business Forum in Shanghai on Tuesday.
"The priority should be to develop bilateral cooperation in high-tech sports," Mishustin stated.
"This is particularly important since the years 2022 and 2023 were declared the years of Russian-Chinese cooperation in physical culture and sports," the Russian premier noted.
Mishustin reiterated that early last month Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and extended an invitation to Chinese representatives to participate in the "Games of the Future" international tournament in Russia.
The inaugural cybersport Games of the Future in 2024 will consist of new disciplines using advanced technology, the digital environment and physical activity. The competitions are designed to use cutting-edge developments in cybersports, robotics, both augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), information technology (IT) and artificial intelligence (AI). The tournament offers $25 million in prize money.
As part of the preparations for the Games of the Future, Russia has organized a series of Phygital Games. The first Phygital Games were held on September 21-23, 2022, the second - from November 24 through December 10, 2022, the third - on February 5-11, and the fourth - on March 9-10. The 5th edition of the Phygital Games was hosted by Kazan on May 16-19.