Mikhail Piotrovsky (right), the Director-General of the State Hermitage Museum, and Hong Yingli (left), the founder and chief executive officer of Red 19 TV, shake hands after signing an agreement on June 30, 2017. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Ahead of the Chinese President's visit to Russia, an agreement was signed to bring the State Hermitage museum's art treasures to China in a significant reflection of Sino-Russian cultural exchange. The cooperation agreement was signed between Mikhail Piotrovsky, the Director-General of the State Hermitage Museum, and Hong Yingli, the founder and chief executive officer of Red 19 TV, on June 30 at the 200-year-old State Council Chamber of the museum.

The scope of cooperation includes the establishment of the Hermitage China foundation, the joint commercialization of intellectual property relating to the Hermitage art treasures, the construction of a Hermitage-China Center museum in Shanghai, virtual reality museums and other activities. This cultural cooperation project, conceived in response to China's One Belt and Road Initiative, will add significant weight to Sino-Russian cultural exchanges, and enables the Chinese to have access to and enjoy world-class art collections at home. The State Hermitage Museum – also known as the Winter Palace to the Chinese – was originally the private museum of Catherine the Great, and is one of the four grand museums in the world, ranking alongside the Louvre Museum in Paris, the British Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Mikhail Piotrovsky (right), the Director-General of the State Hermitage Museum, and Hong Yingli (left), the founder and chief executive officer of Red 19 TV, sign an agreement on June 30, 2017. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Red 19 TV is a multi-platform media company that focuses on Chinese content for a global audience. It provides Chinese content in different languages, while also bringing in premium cultural and art content into China. Red 19 TV has the exclusive right to partner with the State Hermitage in China – a testament to its experienced team of cross-cultural professionals with strong overseas connections and partnerships with media, art, finance and technology industries.