Russian officials and scholars say they expect Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China to bring new progress in ties with China, pointing to the importance of educational exchanges and the close cooperation between the two sides when it comes to global issues.
Putin arrived in Beijing late on Tuesday night to begin a two-day state visit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
This marks President Putin's 25th visit to China, with the two presidents set to exchange views on bilateral relations, cooperation in various fields, as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest, according to a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The visit comes as this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination, the 25th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation and also sees the launch of events under the China-Russia Years of Education for 2026 and 2027.
Russia’s Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov pointed to the importance of these educational exchanges between the two sides.
"We believe the designation of 2026 and 2027 as the China-Russia Years of Education is a natural progression [in our ties]. We sincerely welcome the continued deepening of such exchanges and cooperation. We also welcome the growing attention from multiples sectors towards education in Russia and China, as this is mutually beneficial and reciprocal," Falkov said in a recent interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN).
In recent years, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has enjoyed sound, steady and in-depth development, with expanding cooperation in various fields, and the two sides have also made an important contribution to maintaining global strategic stability and upholding international fairness and justice, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday.
Vasily Kashin, director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the HSE University in Moscow, expects the meeting between the two heads of state to further address these key issues.
"China and Russia have established a strategic partnership for 30 years. During this period, we have closely coordinated on the international stage and jointly responded to various crises and global political changes. We expect that in their talks, the leaders of the two countries will discuss issues related to the world order," he said.
Russian officials, scholars expect Putin visit to open up new chapter in relations with China
Russian officials, scholars expect Putin visit to open up new chapter in relations with China
China's value-added industrial output posted a year-on-year growth of 4.1 percent in April, underpinned by strong growth particularly in equipment, high-tech and digital product manufacturing sectors, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The industrial output is used to measure the activity of large enterprises each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.94 million U.S. dollars).
The equipment manufacturing sector expanded 8.3 percent year on year in April, accounting for 74.5 percent of the growth in overall industrial output. All eight sub-sectors within equipment manufacturing registered gains, underscoring the strengthening foundation of China's industrial base.
High-tech manufacturing emerged as a particularly strong performer. In April, the value-added output in the sector surged 12.8 percent year on year, a significant acceleration of 17.1 percentage points compared to the previous month.
The growth was fueled by the expanding application of artificial intelligence, with notable output increases in storage chips and hard disk drives. Meanwhile, emerging fields such as embodied AI and human-robot collaboration have propelled rapid development in the robotics industry.
Digital product manufacturing also gained momentum, growing 12 percent year on year in April as the integration of digital technologies with the real economy accelerated.
"This year, China has seen faster progress in industrial digitalization and intelligence. Outputs and profits in new-generation information technology, intelligent equipment and other sectors have all seen rapid growth. Meanwhile, we have provided continued support for the implementation of major national strategies and the building of security capacity in key areas and for the implementation of policies on large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs. And with the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), we have gradually rolled out related policies and launched major projects in emerging pillar industries. All these have helped accumulate new growth momentum and accelerate industrialization," said Ren Jiqiu, a researcher with the Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner.
The industrial upturn has also contributed to a continued optimization of China's export structure. In April, industrial enterprises above the designated size recorded export delivery value of 1.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.6 percent over the previous year. Equipment manufacturing accounted for a substantial 74.4 percent of this total.
Key sectors, including automobiles, railway equipment, shipbuilding, and aerospace, all achieved double-digit export growth, reflecting enhanced competitiveness in global markets.
Equipment, high-tech manufacturing leads China's industrial growth in April
