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Mutual visits

Xiong Jiuling, director-general of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, said: "As early as the 1950s government delegations from Beijing and Moscow conducted mutual visits. In 1957 the Moscow Zoo welcomed the giant panda Ping Ping from Beijing Zoo, the first time China's national treasure had traveled abroad, becoming a symbol of friendly exchanges between the two countries.

"Russian culture is an indelible memory for older Beijingers through classic songs such as Moscow Nights and Katyusha, and Russian-style architecture such as the Beijing Exhibition Center and Moscow Restaurant are part of modern Beijing, and are now a big draw for young people."

Since sister-city ties were established nearly 30 years ago, Beijing and Moscow have continually expanded the areas in which they work together, she said.

"Moscow is one of Beijing's most important sister cities, with leaders from both cities placing great importance on developing their relationship. The two have signed 13 cooperation agreements at the municipal level, most of them lasting three years."

In June, Beijing's Party Secretary, Yin Li, and the Mayor, Yin Yong, met the Mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, in Beijing to discuss future collaboration, culminating in a new cooperation plan for 2024-26.

During the visit, Sobyanin lauded the long-standing sister-city relations and said that the two cities have a lot of things in common. Moscow is ready to work more closely with its sister city to achieve even greater results in areas such as economics and trade, transportation, education, healthcare, tourism and smart city development, Sobyanin said.

The following month, the China-Europe freight train (Beijing-Moscow) departed from the comprehensive logistics hub in the Pinggu district of Beijing. The train, loaded with 55 containers of goods such as home appliances, clothing and building materials, marks the normalization of direct freight train services between the two cities. The train is scheduled to run four times a month.

"Next year's 30th anniversary of the sister-city relationship will be a new starting point for the development of their sister-city relations," said Xiong of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality.

Beijing plans to strengthen intergovernmental exchanges with Moscow, deepen collaboration in scientific and technological innovation and promote cultural exchanges, she said.

"We will take full advantage of the China-Russia Year of Culture and the 30th anniversary of Beijing-Moscow sister-city relations to host more cultural, tourism, sports and art exchange activities with Moscow to better promote mutual understanding and friendship between the people of the two countries and cities."