The Russian president has touted the growing cultural exchanges between the two nations
Interest in Chinese is growing in Russia, President Vladimir Putin told journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, revealing that his own granddaughter speaks the language fluently.
During a late-night Q&A session with the heads of international news agencies, the president of Xinhua News Agency, Fu Hua, asked Putin about the deepening cultural exchanges between China and Russia – and the Russian leader’s remark last year that his “family members are interested in China, and some of them are learning Chinese.”
“When I mentioned that some of my close relatives are studying Chinese, I was referring to my granddaughter, who has a teacher from Beijing and speaks fluently with her in Chinese,” Putin said.
“My daughter, back in the early 2000s, started proactively learning Chinese – just because she wanted to. She hired a teacher and studied.”
The Russian president went on to say that over 50,000 Chinese students are studying in Russia, and more than 21,000 Russian students are studying in China. He added that universities in both nations enjoy direct contact, further reinforcing ties and “contacts in all fields” between the two countries.
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