Vice Chinese premier encourages young people to promote China-Russia friendly ties

ST. PETERSBURG, March 28 -- Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong Friday called on young peoples of China and Russia to combine their individual dreams with national prosperity and development and contribute to promoting friendly ties between the two countries.

Liu, during a speech delivered at the St. Petersburg State University in Russia's northern capital, spoke highly of the development of bilateral ties, calling China and Russia "good neighbors, friends and partners."

She said the current strategic partnership between the two countries is of the highest level in terms of foundation, connotation as well as regional and global clout.

The "Chinese dream" and the Russian rejuvenation dream fit each other well, while the two partners see their development as opportunities for each other, Liu noted.

The peoples of China and Russia enjoy a long-standing traditional friendship, and leaders of the two countries attach great importance to the people-to-people exchanges, raising it to strategic level, she said.

According to the Chinese official, humanitarian cooperation, together with political mutual trust and economic and trade cooperation, serves as three pillars of China-Russia ties.

At the moment, the humanitarian cooperation between the two neighbors covers various fields, including youth, education, culture, sports, tourism, and media.

Reciprocal theme year programs held in China and Russia recently, such as the National Year, Language Year, Tourism Year, have sparked long-running "China Fervor" and "Russia Fervor" in the two countries, Liu added.

The Launch of the China-Russia Youth Year of Friendship Exchanges is a new start, Liu said, expressing hope that the youth of the two countries could safeguard and maintain the friendly ties, pass on the tradition, and make contributions to world peace and development.

Following an opening ceremony of the Youth Year here on Friday, a series of activities, including a youth exchange program that involves 100 schools and 10,000 students from both countries, are expected to take place throughout the year.