From October 25 to 28, at the invitation of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) of the Russian Federation, Lu Xiangdong, Vice President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), led a delegation to Russia.
During the visit, Lu attended the International Cooperation Forum Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Russian People's Diplomacy and delivered a speech at a thematic session. In his address, Lu noted that the theme of the forum "People's Diplomacy: For Development" is of vital importance and highly timely. President Xi Jinping stressed that "people-to-people friendship is the foundation for stable and sustained international relations and an inexhaustible driving force for promoting world peace and development, and a basic prerequisite for win-win cooperation." The Chinese side commends Rossotrudnichestvo's consistent commitment to promoting international people-to-people exchanges, fostering international understanding and friendship, and playing a unique role in advancing people-to-people friendship between China and Russia. The CPAFFC stands ready to work closely with Rossotrudnichestvo and other international partners to focus on building four bridges for people-to-people exchanges, practical cooperation, cultural exchanges, and youth friendship, so as to deepen people's friendship, promote common development, and make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for humanity.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to the forum. Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, delivered a video address. Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky, and Head of Rossotrudnichestvo Yevgeny Primakov addressed the forum. More than 2,000 participants from over 100 countries participated.
On the sidelines of the event, Lu met with Primakov and conveyed a congratulatory letter from CPAFFC President Yang Wanming on the centenary of Rossotrudnichestvo. Primakov sincerely thanked the Chinese side for the heartfelt congratulatory letter, noting that the friendship embodied in it made him feel deeply warm and moved. The Russian side values the friendship and cooperation between the two organizations and is ready to spare no effort in advancing the cause of friendship between the two countries. Lu also met with Galina Kulikova, First Deputy Chairperson of the Russia-China Friendship Association and an honoree of the Friendship Medal of China. The two sides had in-depth exchanges on topics including China-Russia people-to-people friendship, youth exchanges, and subnational cooperation.
Chen Lei, Deputy Director-General of the Department of European and Asian Affairs of the CPAFFC, accompanied the visit.
