Russian senators addressed a meeting of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the National People’s Congress of China.
The 10th meeting of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China was held in Beijing. The event was co-chaired by First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Ivan Melnikov and Chairman of the NPC Foreign Affairs Commission Lou Qinjian.
In her speech, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Inna Svyatenko emphasised that under the leadership of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian-Chinese relations have reached an unprecedentedly high level and serve as an example of equal and mutually respectful dialogue between the two great powers.
The Russia-China inter-parliamentary relations have become an increasingly important component of Russia-China strategic interaction, the Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council noted. “A significant part in this process is played to the Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Commission. As part of the Commission’s activities, work is underway to provide legislative support for the implementation of agreements achieved at the top level and aimed at developing the entire range of the Russian-Chinese dialogue,” Inna Svyatenko said, emphasising that Russian parliamentarians representing all regions of the country support the policy for further expansion of mutual exchanges in the interest of strengthening Russia-China comprehensive partnership.
According to her, the parliamentarians have made a significant contribution to promoting trade and economic ties. “Recently, legislative work was completed to create a new preferential regime, namely, an international priority development area. This law was approved by the Federation Council. It is aimed at ensuring favourable conditions for international cooperation and the implementation of joint investment projects with foreign partners in the Far Eastern Federal District.” This arrangement was developed with account taken of China and other countries’ experience, the Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council said.
In addition, she said, the updated Agreement on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments should give another boost to Russian-Chinese investment cooperation. “The document will allow businesses to launch new investment projects based on more transparent and clear conditions, and will provide investors with long-term stability and predictability of the legal environment. For the agreement to enter into force in Russia, it must be ratified. Legislative work towards this end is underway.”
Inna Svyatenko noted that 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of Victory of the Soviet people over Nazi Germany, Victory in the War of Resistance of the Chinese People against Japanese Invaders, and the end of World War II. Since 2020, the Russian and Chinese people have been celebrating Victory Day over Japan together, on the same day, September 3. “In Russia and China, close attention is paid at the top level to preserving the historical memory of the exploits of our heroic forefathers. In an era of rapid change and global challenges, the connection between generations has become the most important factor in the development of society.”
The Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council also noted the attention the parliamentarians pay to expanding interaction between the youth of Russia and China. The ongoing dialogue covers various areas, including work through the Chamber of Young Legislators under the Federation Council.
First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Andrey Denisov touched upon the role of legislative bodies in countering interference in the domestic affairs. “The Federation Council has a commission on protecting state sovereignty and preventing interference in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation. It drafts proposals to improve legislation in this area.”
The senator emphasised that Russia had created a legislative framework for monitoring the activities of individuals under foreign influence. “Back in 2012, the law on foreign agents came into force. It was repeatedly amended and supplemented, and in 2022, the requirements for foreign agents were legislatively generalised.” In particular, Andrey Denisov said, restrictions have been introduced for them to hold elected positions in bodies of public administration, a complete ban has been established on conducting educational activities, or receiving funds from the state budget. “The Federation Council recently approved a law according to which foreign agents located outside of Russia can be brought to administrative responsibility in absentia for distributing materials without indicating their status,” he said.
In connection with the sanctions pressure exerted by the West on the Russian Federation, the senator noted that our country rejects the practice of so-called unilateral coercive measures. “We operate on the belief that from the point of view of international law, the UN Security Council is the only legitimate source of sanctions,” the First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs said.
First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Ivan Abramov spoke on the topic of expanding Russia-China trade and economic relations. According to him, the bilateral Treaty on Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal Cases provides the legal basis for interaction of the government agencies, the executive branch, the business community and citizens, and the protection of their interests. “Considering the changed realities since its conclusion in 1992, we believe it is important to hold consultations on updating it,” the senator said.
He believes developing the stock market is a promising area of cooperation. “Leading Russian corporations and companies have stepped up efforts to obtain credit ratings under the international and national scale in Chinese rating agencies and are introducing bonds to the stock markets of the PRC.”
In addition, interregional ties have become increasingly important in expanding Russia-China relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, and act as new growth points for practical cooperation. “Currently, 117 cooperation agreements covering various sectors have been signed between 43 constituent entities of the Federation and 29 regions of the PRC. Russian municipalities have signed 313 twinning agreements with their Chinese partners,” Ivan Abramov said. As a practical step, he said expanding the scope of the experiment to transfer border checkpoints to a 24-hour mode of operation should be considered.
First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security Vladimir Chizhov focused on the importance of protecting the outcomes of World War II with the help of legal and legislative instruments. “The past 80 years have become a harsh reminder that Nazi Germany and militarist Japan, blinded by the anti-human ideology of racial superiority, committed genocide and resorted to mass extermination of civilians. It was China and the Soviet Union that waged a long and fierce war against the aggressors,” he said.
The senator noted that distorting the historical truth about the outcomes of World War II is a targeted policy carried out under the leadership of government agencies and special services of foreign countries, with the involvement of government agencies, public organisations and specially created in Europe “institutes of national memory,” “museums of occupation,” research centres and foundations. “A strong legislative bastion has been built in the Russian Federation, which is designed to protect historical memory from encroachment and stop any attempts to distort it,” Vladimir Chizhov said.
Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy Yulia Lazutkina reported on youth exchanges, including through parliamentary channels. In her opinion, the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the All-Russian Public Movement of Children and Youth “Movement of the First” and the All-China Youth Federation for 2025–2026 was a significant step. “The document opens up additional opportunities for the representatives of children’s organisations to participate in joint projects and events, to develop multilateral and regional formats, and to support youth initiatives.”
The senator also focused on cooperation in education and professional training. “Studying at Russian universities is in high demand in China. The practice of bilateral educational programmes in Russian and Chinese has a good track record. Currently, 27 joint educational organisations have been created. About 600 universities are part of 15 inter-university associations of the two countries. For our part, we are ready to continue to support the high level of interaction and to expand the contractual and legal framework for inter-university cooperation,” Yulia Lazutkina said.
During the meeting of the Commission, an engaged exchange of views took place about the state and prospects of legislative support for Russian-Chinese cooperation in almost all areas. Russian senators and State Duma deputies focused on the need to find mutually beneficial solutions to bottlenecks in border and investment cooperation, paying special attention to the development of ties in the banking sector and the transition to settlements in national currencies.
The implementation of the agreements reached during the tenth meeting will be monitored by a joint working group under the Interparliamentary Commission, which includes representatives of both chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and their Chinese colleagues.
Following the meeting of the Interparliamentary Commission, the delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation was hosted by President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.