On November 11^th, Zhang Xu, vice minister of culture and tourism, and the director of Russian Tourism Department attended the 18^th conference of the Tourism Cooperation Branch Committee of China-Russia Humanities Committee.

    Zhang Xu said that this year was the 20^th anniversary of the signing of the “China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation” which was a mark of the development of China-Russia relation. Under the strategic leading of the heads of the two countries, China and Russia had been cooperating to overcome the negative influence of the pandemic and to promote the bilateral relationship in a larger area, wider field and to a higher level. In the past year, our tourism cooperation had seen effective functioning of cooperation mechanism, booming brand events and smooth cooperation within a multilateral framework. He suggested that in the future cooperation, both parties should make full use of the leading effect of China-Russia Tourism Cooperation Branch Committee, China-Russia-Mongolia Tourism Minister Meeting mechanism and other mechanisms; improve the influence of brand events, like collection of Chinese and Russian cultures and 10-thousand-kilometer tea road and strengthen the collaboration of the SCO and the BRICKS, so as to use practical measures to promote the healthy cooperation and sustainable development of China and Russia. More practical results would push forward the strategic cooperative partnership in all aspects for the two countries in a new era.

    The director of Russian Tourism Department gave a high comment of the branch mechanism. He said that Russian government attached great importance to China-Russia tourism cooperation. It was willing to work with Chinese government to launch various forms of cooperation, to share experience and to exchange ideas of achievement, so as to push forward the innovation and development of tourism cooperation to create welfare for the people in two countries.

    Both sides passed the minutes of the 18^th conference of the branch committee on the conference.