The Chinese representatives to the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development held a plenary meeting in Beijing on Friday.
Li Hongzhong, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and chairman of the Chinese representatives to the committee, attended the meeting and delivered a speech.
Li noted that in 2025, the 15th plenary session of the committee was successfully held in Russia, and that President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin sent congratulatory messages to the meeting, providing strategic guidance and fundamental principles for the committee's work.
Li highlighted the guiding role of head-of-state diplomacy, stressing the need to fully leverage the committee's role as a key channel for people-to-people exchanges between China and Russia, consolidate public support for bilateral friendship and advance practical cooperation.
During the meeting, the Chinese secretariat of the committee and its councils exchanged views on their work.
Chinese representatives to China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development hold plenum in Beijing
Thailand has temporarily closed more than 1,000 schools in border areas following a new round of armed clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops along their shared border.
The Thai Ministry of Education ordered the suspension of classes on Friday in seven provinces bordering Cambodia, affecting a total of 1,060 schools, to ensure the safety of students and teachers.
Buriram Province is among the areas most affected by the renewed fighting, with more than 100 schools shut down. At local shelters, displaced residents, including children and teenagers, have sought refuge as fighting continues.
One girl said she had stayed in the shelter for 11-12 days already. "I moved here because of the clashes between Thailand and Cambodia," she said, adding that she could hear very loud gunfire at her home.
She said school won't be open until the clashes end, and she misses her classmates very much.
A teenage boy in the shelter expressed the same emotions.
"It's been 13 days since I moved here. I heard gunfires at home and I was so scared that I moved to the shelter. I want to return to school to study and see my friends," he said.
A displaced woman recalled her time in a shelter when border clashes between the two countries broke out earlier this year.
"I stayed in the shelter for a week when the last clashes broke out. This time I don't know how long I need to stay here before I can return home," she said.
Border clashes between the two sides reignited on Dec 7, less than two months after the two sides signed a joint peace declaration, with both sides trading the blame for instigating the attacks.
Thailand closes over 1,000 schools near border amid armed clashes with Cambodia
