Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has spoken highly of the theme events of the Year of Russia in China and the Year of China in Russia, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday.
"The results are really outstanding, and there has been nothing of the kind between our countries for decades, at least," Interfax quoted the deputy prime minister as saying.
In total, some 500 events have been held during the two theme years since 2006.
"These have not been small meetings or talks on the sidelines. These have been large events: national exhibitions, business forums, a Russian Language Week, as well as openings of various festivals," he said.
Economic cooperation has also been strengthened as more than 20agreements were signed, worth 4 billion U.S. dollars, Medvedev said, noting that some 500 million dollars of which were for selling Russian equipment and machinery to China.
"These are quite practical results of our Year in China and the Year of our friends in the Russian Federation." he was quoted as saying.
"The national years stimulated the whole socioeconomic interaction between Russia and China. We began to have more contacts and to socialize better, and this communication has taken some tangible forms," he said.
The theme events have helped the two peoples to know each other better. "We have come to better understand the Chinese, and the Chinese have come to better understand us," Medvedev said.
"We have a historic cooperation running for many centuries, and even given this fact, in order to understand such a large and important strategic neighbor and partner as China, it is necessary for communication to pass from the governmental level to the level of human and humanitarian interaction," he said.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin initiated the national years in 2005. 2006 was the Year of Russia in China and the upcoming visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will signal the end of the Year of China in Russia.
Source:Xinhua
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