On August 7, 2015, a closing ceremony of the Russian-Chinese Youth Forum “Volga-Yangtze” was held in the research centre of the biggest panda nursery in Chengdu (Sichuan Province, China). The ceremony was attended by Mikhail Babich, the Russian Presidential Envoy in the Volga Federal Region, and Yang Jiechi, State Councilor of China. Mikhail Babich invited Chinese youth to take part in the next forum which will be held in the Volga Region in 2016.

The Forum lasted from July, 28 till August, 7. The Russian delegation consisted of 160 students from 50 universities of the Volga Federal Region, and of young specialists from “Rostech” State Corporation. They are the best students, leaders of social youth life, talented performers and sportsmen. The Chinese delegation was represented by 180 students from the provinces of the Yangtze upstream and midstream.

In his speech Mikhail Babich emphasized that “Volga-Yangtze” cooperation has different constituent parts: trade, economic, research, engineering, and humanitarian. And it is especially important that Russian and Chinese active youth is at the cutting edge of this trend.

 The Russian Presidential Envoy is sure that the young participants of the forum will soon become leaders in different spheres, and the work done within these days will become the foundation for developing relations between our countries in the next decades.

Youth cooperation is one of the primary focuses within the format “Volga-Yangtze”. Student exchange programmes actively develop among universities, Russian and Chinese youth study Chinese and Russian respectively. Over the last two years the number of students studying Chinese in the Volga Region universities has three times increased.

In his speech Yang Jiechi, State Councilor of China, said that the Forum has been an important event which contributes to further development of cooperation between China and Russia, helps Russian and Chinese youth better understand each other, learn the culture and traditions of the two countries. “The future of Russian-Chinese cooperation is in your hands”, - he addressed the young people.  Yang Jiechi is also sure that the cities of the Volga Region will properly represent the country at the World Football Cup in 2018. He also thanked Russia for support of Beijing in the struggle for the right to hold the Winter Olympics in 2022.

During the ten days of the Forum the Russian students got acquainted with the life of their Chinese peers, with the work of local universities, high-tech enterprises, attended lectures of the leading Chinese scientists, took part in scientific discussions, learned the culture and history of China and Sichuan Province. In particular, they attended the centre of vacuum automated systems, objects of high-speed railways, the centre of robotics, laboratories of aerodynamic tubes, the leading tractive laboratory. Moreover, the Russian students together with their Chinese peers took part in the competition in radio wave location finding, in discussions and lectures in industrialization and development of modern economics, meteorology, and education.

At the end of the event the Russian Presidential Envoy in the Volga Federal Region invited the Chinese youth representatives to the Volga Federal Region to take part in the next Youth Forum. “We will continue this unique annual format and we will probably extend it. We are ready to listen to your suggestions concerning what is necessary to make such forums more interesting, instructive and useful for you”, said Mikhail Babich.