Press conference: “On the results of the II International Forum ‘SPROUTS: Russia and China - Mutually Beneficial Cooperation’”.

On November 13-15, 2024, the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Center in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, hosted the II International Forum “SPROUTS: Russia and China - Mutually Beneficial Cooperation”. The participants discussed topical issues, exchanged experience and established new business contacts.

This year the number of forum participants was a record-breaking. Taliya Minullina, Head of the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency, emphasized that the number of regions and countries represented at the event reached the heights.

“This year we have seen a significant increase in participation: 31 countries and more than 10 thousand participants. The first time 57 regions took part in the forum, this time 71. We are especially pleased that the number of administrative units of China has increased from 14 to 27. Such data shows a serious increase,” said the head of the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency.

Talia Minullina also noted: “This platform is useful not only for us, but also for other regions of Russia. Many agreements have been signed in agriculture, economy, trade, mineral resources, engineering and technical cooperation and in many other areas. Each participant also tried to organize additional events outside the main program of the forum. Thus, this forum has become a successful platform opening new horizons for further cooperation”.

A total of 31 agreements were signed at the forum, the following cooperation agreements are among them: the agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan and Public Joint Stock Company BANK URALSIB, the agreement between the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan, the agreement between Dazhou City of Sichuan Province of the People's Republic of China and Yelabuga City of the Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian Federation, as well as a memorandum on strategic cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan.

In light of active cooperation with Chinese partners, the organizers of the forum decided to postpone it to new dates. This is due to the busy business activity in the autumn months and the desire to take into account the cultural preferences of the Chinese side.

“Many people ask why we have moved the forum to new dates. It has to do with Chinese partners. At meetings with the Rais of the Republic, our guests have asked him several times to postpone the forum to August, as the autumn months are too busy in terms of business activity. We also take into account other events that take place in China, including major exhibitions. Therefore, they requested to organize the forum in August. The dates of August 18 and 19 were chosen for a reason, as the Chinese are very fond of the number 8, and August is the eighth month. Thus, we decided to focus on these dates in 2025,” said the head of the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency.

Xiang Bo, Consul General of China in Kazan, noted the importance of interaction between Tatarstan and China.

“I was able to talk to representatives of delegations from the People's Republic of China and they are very hopeful about further cooperation in Tatarstan. I believe that the Republic of Tatarstan is one of the most active regions of Russia in developing cooperation with China and contributes to the strategic growth of cooperation between Russia and China, helping it to reach a new qualitative level,” Xiang Bo said.

Damir Natfullin, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, presented the overview of the cultural component of the forum, highlighting four key sections, each of which contributed to the discussion of topical issues.

“First of all, I would like to note that 4 very interesting sections were held within the Culture track. One of them was devoted to UNESCO sites and the impact of UNESCO status on tourist flows of commercial spheres. The second session was devoted to archaeology, where approaches and experience that has already been gained in Tatarstan on UNESCO sites and works in the field of archaeology were discussed. The third section was devoted to creative industries, where joint projects and peculiarities of creative industries in both Russia and China were considered, as well as cultural and economic factors influencing the formation of the ecosystem of both countries. The fourth section was devoted to arts and crafts and examples of preservation and development of local crafts. I would like to note that this section was attended by specially invited guests from China, who, in addition to participating in the session itself, visited our cultural sites” - Damir Natfullin.

In addition, the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan shared information about the Forum's cultural projects and prospects for further development. In his speech, he emphasized the significance of new initiatives and outlined the key areas that will contribute to strengthening cooperation and cultural exchange:

“From November 13 to 15, the days of Chinese cinema were held in the MIR cinema theater, where all interested guests of the Republic and residents of Kazan could get acquainted with wonderful films in the original language with dubbed translation. In addition, on October 21, the exhibition “Chinese Collections from Museums of the Russian Federation” was opened in the National Museum. This is also quite a serious project realized within the framework of BRICS, which is now ongoing and there is an opportunity to visit it. We have been actively discussing with our Chinese colleagues and artists the possibilities of a joint project on the Great Tea Route, which reminds us that Kazan and Tatarstan were an integral part of this historical route. We all know that Kazan and Tatarstan were part of the Great Tea Road, and there are now serious intentions on both our part and the Republic of China that cooperation in this area can be strengthened and further developed”.

Within the framework of the Russia-China Forum, dedicated to strengthening economic ties between Russia and China, attention was also paid to sports cooperation. Ildar Sadriev, Deputy Minister of Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan, emphasized the importance of sports as a universal language of communication and an instrument of intercultural dialogue.

“The forum featured various sporting events, including table tennis and chess tournaments, as well as an ice hockey match between the Ak Bars club and the Chinese team Kunlun Red Star.” Sport unites, and the introduction of such sporting activity into the economic forums is a form of networking, experience exchange, and networking,” he added.

One of the key events was a friendly chess tournament held on November 14 at EXPO. 26 teams participated, 18 of which represented Russia and 8 represented China.

“I congratulate my colleagues from the People's Republic of China for showing the game at a very worthy level and taking first place in the team scoring,” Sadriev said.

Besides, the “Evening League” team table tennis tournament was held at the Boxing and Table Tennis Center on November 15. Both professional athletes and representatives of the business program took part in it.

“His Majesty Sport won, it was a friendly tournament. Of course, friendship won,” Sadriev summarized.

The Deputy Minister of Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan emphasized that such events will become the norm at business forums, which emphasizes the great interest of young people in international tournaments: “Such international tournaments have a great future”.