Ms Wang Wenli, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in St Petersburg, has visited St Petersburg University. After an official meeting with Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University, she delivered a lecture for students, talked to the University sinologists and visited the Oriental Department of the M Gorky Scientific Library of St Petersburg University.

Ms Wang Wenli, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in St Petersburg, has visited St Petersburg University. After an official meeting with Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University, she delivered a lecture for students, talked to the University sinologists and visited the Oriental Department of the M Gorky Scientific Library of St Petersburg University.

Earlier, Alexey Rodionov, Senior Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Asian and African Studies at St Petersburg University, spoke at the Russian-Chinese International Education Forum-2023, which brought together sinologists and university leaders from Russia and China.

The event was opened by Sergey Andryushin, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at St Petersburg University. ‘China−Russia strategic cooperation continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. St Petersburg University, like our partners in China, is interested in the academic programmes that produce professionals who will be instrumental in developing our — primarily economic — cooperation,’ stressed Sergey Andryushin.

When greeting the audience, Ms Wang Wenli said, ‘I am happy to see you all here. Looking at your enthusiastic faces, I know that relations between our countries have a great future.’ She added that the high level of competence of the University students with a specialisation in Chinese studies is evidenced by the growing popularity of the programmes with a Chinese component offered by St Petersburg University.

The official visit of the Chinese leader to Russia took place prior to the lecture event, from 20 to 22 March 2023. This was Xí Jìnpíng’s ninth official trip to Russia and the first international visit since his re-election. Ms Wang Wenli Lì praised the state of political relations between Russia and China, demonstrated by the number and quality of summit meetings between the leaders of the two countries: over the past ten years they have met about 40 times. Ms Wang also recalled that in 2019, Xí Jìnpíng was conferred the title of an honorary doctor of St Petersburg University in the presence of Vladimir Putin.

Ms Wang Wenli drew attention to the fact that China−Russia bilateral relations are characterised by internal driving forces and development based on the free choice of the parties involved. She noted that over the 70 years of the People’s Republic of China, relations between our two countries followed a long and often arduous path. Eventually, we reached a unique model of cooperation, in which both sides have equal opportunities for development. Ms Wang underlined that the directions of our countries’ national development strategies for the year largely coincide. During the March summit meeting, the heads of state signed cooperation agreements in a number of areas, including: energy; investment; trade; local self-government; humanitarian exchange; and many others.

Since both China and Russia are large countries and also neighbouring nations, China−Russia relations are strategic. Our cooperation is not only mutually beneficial, it is important for maintaining global stability.

Ms Wang Wenli, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in St Petersburg

According to Ms Wang Wenli, in terms of internal development, the Chinese-style modernisation contrasts with Western-style development. One of its key characteristics is huge population — over 1.4 billion people. The ultimate goal of China’s modernisation is to achieve the nation’s prosperity and integration of Chinese material and spiritual culture.

Ms Wang Wenli also touched upon the history of relations between St Petersburg and China. Since the foundation of the city by Peter the Great, elements of Chinese culture have always been present in the northern capital of Russia, particularly in the palace interiors. In the 1950s, Soviet universities lent support to the building of New China. Many Chinese alumni of Russian universities made significant contributions to the history of the People’s Republic of China. ‘At present, there are 15,000 Chinese students in Russia. About 1,500 students from the Russian Federation are studying at Chinese universities. 20 primary and secondary schools offer Chinese language courses, with over 10,000 students currently studying Chinese. Major cultural institutions, such as: the State Hermitage Museum; the Russian Museum; the Mariinsky Theatre; and the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum maintain friendly relations with their colleagues in China,’ said Ms Wang Wenli, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in St Petersburg.

‘Going side by side, along the same path, Russia and China benefit the whole world,’ Ms Wang Wenli summed up. ‘As noted at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last year, China will remain firm in pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace, while adhering to the open door policy.’ Ms Wang reminded that ten years ago, during his visit to Moscow, President Xí Jìnpíng introduced the concept of "community with a shared future for mankind". Only through joint efforts, can humanity sharing the same planet achieve common prosperity. ‘All countries across the globe are interdependent on each other. Hence, international cooperation is indispensable for us. The throw-back to Cold War thinking and the resulting geopolitical turmoil undermine stability of the multipolar world and impede the democratisation of international relations,’ Ms Wang concluded.

The more our world is in turmoil, the more we need to enhance relations between China and Russia.
Ms Wang Wenli, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in St Petersburg

At the end of the lecture, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions. After the lecture event, Ms Wang Wenli together with Alexey Rodionov, Senior Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Asian and African Studies at St Petersburg University, visited the statue of Confucius in the Modern Sculpture Park at St Petersburg University. Ms Wang was then invited to the Oriental Department of the M. Gorky Scientific Library of St Petersburg University. At the library, she talked to the University sinologists: Professor Aleksandr Storozhuk, Head of the Department of Chinese Philology; and Dmitrii Maiatskii, Associate Professor in the Department of Chinese Philology. Milana Azarkina, Head of the Oriental Department of the M Gorky Scientific Library of St Petersburg University, presented some unique library items: manuscripts; woodblock prints; and printed books in Chinese. Some of these items date back to the 15th century and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Ms Wang Wenli took a keen interest in the presented items and received a guest pass to be able to work in the Library in future.