China and Russia

From May 28 to June 1, Pan Zhenzhou, Vice Minister of Culture, visited Russia at the invitation of the Russian Ministry of Culture.

　　From June 4 to 11, Zheng Xinmiao, Deputy Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, visited Russia.

　　From July 11 to 12, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries presented two big song and dance soirees entitled “China-Russian Friendship Night” in Moscow in support of Beijing’s bid for the hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games.

　　From July 18 to 20, Shvydkoy, Russian Minister of Culture, visited China. Meng Xiaosi, Vice Minister of Culture, and Shvydkoy co-presided over the first meeting of the Culture Cooperation Subcommittee of the China-Russian Committee on Education, Cultural, Health and Sports Cooperation.

　　On August 24, the Russian Contemporary Classic Oils Exhibition was inaugurated in China National Gallery.

　　On September 25, a photo exhibition entitled “The Splendid China” co-sponsored by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Russian side was inaugurated in the Museum of the Ostrovsky Humanities and Arts Center in Moscow. The exhibition lasted two weeks and was visited by 3000 spectators.

　　On November 9, the second meeting of the Sports Cooperation Subcommittee of the China-Russian Committee on Education, Cultural, Health and Sports Cooperation was held in Guangtzhou.

　　Exchanges of visits by other important cultural missions and groups in 2001: China Song and Dance Ensemble (May), Xinjiang Song and Dance Ensemble (May), China Writers’ Delegation (June), Mei Lanfang Beijing Opera Troupe of Beijing (June), China Calligraphy and Paintings Exhibition (July), Cultural Delegation of Jiangsu Province (September), Jiangnan Shaolin Kung Fu Performing Delegation (October), China Military Writers’ Delegation (October), Big National Song and Dance Drama “The Border Town” Performing Troupe of Hunan Song and Dance Theater (October), Russian Bolshoi Dance Troupe (January), Kremlin Ballet (April), the Red Army Song and Dance Ensemble of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (May), the Opera and Ballet Theatre of Norobrisk (June), Moscow Classic Ballet (September), the Exhibition of 300 Years of Russian Paintings (September), St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra (November).

　　At the end of 2001, there were 484 government-sponsored Chinese students in Russia and 122 government-sponsored Russian students in China.

　　January to August 2002

　　On January 21, the first session of the Tourism Working Group of the China-Russian Committee on Education, Cultural, Health and Sports Cooperation was held in Shanghai.

　　On May 22, Meng Xiaosi, Chinese Vice Minister of Culture, visited Russia and, with Shvydkoy, Russian Minister of Culture, co-presided over the second meeting of the Cultural Cooperation Subcommittee of the China-Russian Committee on Education, Cultural, Health and Sports Cooperation.

　　On May 23, Zhang Xinsheng, Vice Minister of Education, visited Russia and, with Filippov, Russian Minister of Education, co-presided over the second session of the Education Cooperation Subcommittee of the China-Russian Committee on Education, Cultural, Health and Sports Cooperation.

　　On June 4, Zhu Qingsheng, Vice Minister of Public Health, visited Russia and, with Stukolova, Russian Vice Minister of Health, co-presided over the second session of the Health Cooperation Subcommittee of the China-Russian Committee on Education, Cultural, Health and Sports Cooperation.

　　IV. On the Boundary Question

　　The total length of the Sino-Russian boundary line is about 4,370 kilometers, of which the eastern section is about 4,320 kilometers and the western section about 54 kilometers. There exists the boundary question between the two countries left over from history. Based on the treaties concerning the present boundary between the two countries, in accordance with the recognized norms of international law and in the spirit of equal consultation and mutual understanding and accommodation, the two sides, after years of negotiations, have delimited 97% of the alignment of the boundary line and signed the Agreement on the Eastern Section of the Boundary Between China and Russia and the Agreement on the Western Section of the Boundary Between China and Russia on May 16, 1991 and September 3, 1994 respectively. On December 9, 1999 China and Russia signed the Protocol on Delineation of the Eastern Section of the Boundary Line Between China and Russia and the Protocol on Delineation of the Western Section of the Boundary Line Between China and Russia. The signing of the above-mentioned documents and the successful conclusion of the boundary demarcation work marks the formal confirmation in legal form of the sections of the boundary that have been agreed upon by China and Russia through consultation, and for the first time in the history of relations between the two countries the agreed-upon boundary line has been accurately staked of on the spot.