On April 26–27, the Valdai Discussion Club, in partnership with the Center for Russian Studies of East China Normal University, will hold its next annual Russian-Chinese Conference. The theme is “The Era of Multipolarity: New Horizons of Russian-Chinese Cooperation.”
The event will bring together more than 40 experts from Russia and China, many of whom participate in bilateral expert meetings, regional conferences, and the Valdai Club’s annual sessions. At the opening of the Russian-Chinese Conference, welcoming addresses will be delivered by Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club; Mei Bin, Secretary of the Party Committee of East China Normal University; and Feng Shaolei, Director of the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University.
The conference’s traditional organizing partner is the Center for Russian Studies of East China Normal University—one of China’s largest research institutes studying Russia, the post-Soviet space, and Russian-Chinese relations.
The strategic partnership between Russia and China is one of the foundations of the emerging multipolar world and a key driver of changes in the international environment. Today, as the transition to multipolarity has taken place, Moscow and Beijing are leveraging the accumulated potential of bilateral relations and the new horizons of cooperation opening before them to build balanced ties with other centres of the diverse world.
At the global level, both countries uphold the inviolability of international law based on the UN Charter and promote their own largely congruent concepts aimed at creating conditions for equal and indivisible security in the new world order. Additionally, within BRICS and the SCO, Russia and China advance coordinated initiatives to develop the international economic and financial architecture and create alternative payment systems independent of Western countries.
At the regional level, Russia and China are consistently strengthening Eurasian connectivity and expanding the network of transport corridors that will shape the strategic contours of Greater Eurasia. These include the Baikal-Amur Mainline and Trans-Siberian Railway, the Central Economic Corridor and Ulaanbaatar Railway, the Northern Sea Route, as well as multilateral projects like the International North–South Transport Corridor and the Belt and Road Initiative.
Many Global South states still feel the consequences of their colonial past and, due to a lack of resources, face difficulties in addressing their development challenges. Russia and China offer them the necessary resources, investments, and technologies to enhance the efficiency of economic activities. One such technology is Artificial Intelligence, whose development is linked not only to economic growth but also to issues of sovereignty, security, and global competition. A dedicated session of this conference will focus on Moscow’s and Beijing’s approaches to the development and regulation of AI.
The Russian-Chinese Conference will span two days, featuring an opening, four thematic sessions, and a closing.
During the sessions, experts will discuss the following topics:
- Formation of a multipolar world amid turbulence: the Global South and the responsibility of great powers;
- Russia-China interaction in the year of the 30th anniversary of strategic partnership and the 25th anniversary of the Treaty on Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation: shaping the architecture of Eurasian connectivity;
- New opportunities for high-quality development: enhancing the efficiency of cooperation in energy, technology, and finance;
- Social construction and strengthening the foundations of Russian-Chinese relations: youth, education, media, autonomous knowledge systems.
The discussions will feature Russian political scientists and economists, including: Vasily Kashin, Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at HSE University; Alexei Kupriyanov, Head of the Center for Indo-Pacific Region at IMEMO RAS; Alexander Lomanov, Deputy Director for Research at IMEMO RAS; Prokhor Tebin, Director of the Center for Military-Economic Studies at the Institute of World Military Economy and Strategy at HSE University; Fyodor Lukyanov, Director for Research at the Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club; Timofei Bordachev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club; and others.
From the Chinese side, participants include: Gao Fei, Rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the PRC; Bei Wenli, Deputy Director of the Center for Russian Studies at ECNU; Nelson Wong, Vice Chariman and President of the Shanghai Centre for RimPac and International Studies; Ding Jie, Director of the Center for International Relations Studies at the Academy of Contemporary China and the World; Li Zhiqiang, Director of the Center for Contemporary Russian Studies at Sichuan University; Han Hua, co-founder and General Secretary of the Beijing Dialogue; and others.
Working languages: Russian, Chinese
Information for the media: In order to get accredited for the event, please fill out the form on our website. Accreditation closes on April 24 at 12:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3). If you have any questions about the event, please call +79269307763.
Links to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, X (formerly Twitter), VK, Telegram
and Dzen.
The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.
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