Under the framework of the China-Russia Youth Business Incubator exchange project, a China-Russia youth entrepreneur roundtable and China-Russia youth creative industry dialogue were held in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on May 18.

The event, sponsored by the All-China Youth Federation (ACYF) and the Russian Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, and co-hosted by the China International Youth Exchange Center (CIYEC), the Heilongjiang youth federation, and the Russian youth expert promotion center, aimed to further promote pragmatic cooperation between Chinese and Russian youth. Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of China-Russia diplomatic relations and the China-Russia Years of Culture, the event focused on cultural creativity and economic and trade development.

Zhang Anshun, Deputy Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Hu Baijing, a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and Vice Chairperson of the ACYF, and Denis Ashirov, Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, delivered speeches at the event. Liu Aiping, Chairman of the Governing Council of the CIYEC, presided over the event, which was attended by over 100 young entrepreneurs from both China and Russia.

Noting that 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of China-Russia diplomatic relations, which presents new opportunities for subnational cooperation between the two nations, Zhang said that Heilongjiang will seize this opportunity to enhance youth exchanges in a bid to actively promote mutually beneficial cooperation between China's Northeast and Russia's Far East, and deepen connectivity to contribute to the enduring friendship between China and Russia. He expressed the hope for further strengthening exchanges among young entrepreneurs, expanding subnational cooperation into broader and higher-level fields, and achieving mutual development and win-win results. Additionally, he called for deepening cultural exchanges, preserving the spirit of good-neighborliness, and enhancing cooperation and youth exchanges in education, tourism, sports, culture, and arts by leveraging the opportunity of the China-Russia Years of Culture, thereby infusing new connotations into the traditional China-Russia friendship.

Hu noted that in recent years, the ACYF and its Russian partners have made positive contributions to promoting cooperation between young people of the two countries in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship through activities such as the China-Russia youth entrepreneur roundtable and the China-Russia Youth Business Incubator exchange program. These efforts have helped foster future talent for China-Russia economic and trade cooperation and have laid a solid foundation for pragmatic cooperation between the two nations, he said. Hu expressed the expectation that Chinese and Russian youth will maintain strong confidence in development and seize opportunities during their exchanges and cooperation. He encouraged them to leverage their innovative strengths to expand creative collaborations and to adhere to a pragmatic approach to improve cooperation mechanisms, contributing their youthful energy to creating a bright future of shared prosperity for China and Russia.

Ashirov emphasized the crucial role of young entrepreneurs, noting that the quality of business practices among the younger generation will impact the economic growth rate and their respective national images. He said that in recent years, the Russian Federal Agency for Youth Affairs has actively engaged in fruitful cooperation with the ACYF under the framework of the subcommittee on youth cooperation of the China-Russia Committee on Humanities Cooperation. This collaboration has been particularly effective in the fields of creative industries and youth entrepreneurship. He also expressed his anticipation of continuous in-depth exchanges and pragmatic cooperation between the young people of both nations.

The roundtable conference, centered on the theme of new opportunities for pragmatic cooperation between Chinese and Russian youth, also invited experts, scholars, and industry professionals to delivered speeches on various topics, including the development of the creative industry, China-Russia trade, subnational cooperation between China and Russia, and youth entrepreneurship.

Wang Guanran, Chief Analyst for Culture and Media at CITIC Securities, introduced the policy orientation, market conditions, competitive advantages of the Chinese cultural industry, as well as opportunities for China-Russia cultural investment and cooperation. Wang highlighted that the Chinese cultural industry boasts a massive market scale, encompassing diversified fields such as books, films, music, short videos, long videos, games, and offline entertainment, with short videos and the gaming industry standing out in particular. In terms of the industrial chain, the Chinese cultural industry demonstrates strong competitiveness, offering tremendous potential and broad prospects. Noting that Chinese policies actively support the international expansion and cooperation of the youth creative industry, he said that there are numerous opportunities for collaboration between China and Russia in areas such as investment, video platform cooperation, cultural creativity, and supply chains. The future holds vast potential for expanded cooperation between the two nations.

Kim Borisov, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) to the Far Eastern Federal District, introduced the regional cooperation between the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic and Heilongjiang, along with future prospects. The two regions have not only maintained close ties in traditional economic and trade sectors but have also organized and developed new cooperative projects in culture, tourism, and sports, he said. They include collaborations between cultural and tourism enterprises, forums for small and medium-sized enterprises, and youth sports events. Borisov expressed optimism about the future, anticipating broader exchanges and cooperation with relevant Chinese institutions and enterprises across a wider range of fields.

Yang Minghao, Deputy Secretary-General of the finance sector of the Heilongjiang youth federation and General Manager of the efficiency management department at Heilongjiang Transportation Investment Group Co., Ltd., introduced the geographical, industrial, and policy advantages of Heilongjiang's northward opening-up. He shared insights on the cooperation between local enterprises and Russia in areas such as cross-border parks, transportation, trade platforms, and commerce. Yang expressed his hope for stronger cooperation between China and Russia. He underscored the importance of improving the efficiency of logistics channels and establishing more platforms for exchange and collaboration to lift China-Russia economic and trade relations to new heights.

Maria Vasileva, Chief Expert of the youth entrepreneurship development department at the Russian youth expert promotion center, introduced the youth entrepreneurship development program implemented by the center. The program aims to create a dialogue and cooperation platform between young Russian entrepreneurs and their foreign business partners. Vasileva emphasized the program's goal of fostering international collaboration by organizing a series of business visits and specialized forums. These initiatives are designed to facilitate the exchange of experiences among young entrepreneurs and to explore new channels for investment and cooperation. She hoped more young Chinese entrepreneurs will join the program to contribute to the growth and development of youth entrepreneurship.

At the roundtable meeting, heads of local youth organizations as well as representatives of business associations and entrepreneurs from China and Russia spoke on topics such as entrepreneurial project cases, innovative initiatives, and priority areas for empowering young entrepreneurs.

The roundtable meeting was held during the 8th China-Russia Expo. Since the first China-Russia Expo in 2014, the ACYF has organized practical exchange activities for Chinese and Russian young entrepreneurs during each expo, focusing on themes such as the Belt and Road Initiative, youth innovation and entrepreneurship, and youth development.

During this year's expo, a series of visits, inspections, and interactive exchange activities were organized for Chinese and Russian young entrepreneurs. Jia Tiesong, Deputy Director of the CIYEC, and the head of the CIYEC’s International Training Department participated in the roundtable meeting.