Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli (second left), Wang Yang (second right), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice-premier, and Vice-Premier Liu Yandong (left) are awarded the Order of Friendship medal by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

Medvedev says events helped to enhance bilateral relations

The China-Russia Media Exchange Year has helped China and Russia to deeply enhance friendship and offer a window for media from both sides to learn from each other, Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday.

Li made the remark when he was addressing the closing ceremony of the China-Russia Media Exchange Year (2016-17) at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday, together with visiting Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, after the two held their 22nd regular meeting in Beijing on Wednesday morning.

"I noticed that many of you here are sitting there with a cellphone in your hand taking pictures. And I believe this shows the advanced development of the media of both countries," Li said to the media representatives, as well as university students from China and Russia.

President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced 2016-17 as the China-Russia Media Exchange Year on May 8, 2015. During the past two years, media from both countries carried out exchanges and cooperation in many fields, taking cultural cooperation between both nations to a higher level.

Li said the event shows that China and Russia, as comprehensive strategic partners, share sound political trust and have a friendly and objective attitude toward each other.

He said the past two years have seen numerous highlights in media exchanges between both countries, covering a wide range of sectors including economic affairs and culture.

"Today's closing ceremony of the China-Russia Media Exchange Year should not be seen as the end, but rather it marks a starting point for media exchange and cooperation between China and Russia, passing on the friendship to future generations," Li said.

Medvedev, who also addressed the ceremony, said that with more than 250 events being held since 2015, the China-Russia Media Exchange Year has brought opportunities to add new meaning to bilateral ties.

Konstantin Shepin, a Russian journalist working at the Russian language department of China Radio International, said the remarks of both premiers further encouraged him in his work.

"I've participated in a great number of events under the China-Russia Media Exchange Year framework, such as visiting the Silk Road with journalist from both countries, such as RT TV Station and TASS News, traveling to Gansu province and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. I believe these events have helped Russian journalists immensely in understanding China, including myself," he said. "For example, in Russian media reports of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the content was much richer compared with five years ago."