On February 28 – March 1, 2025 the 3rd
International Conference “China-Russia Sanya Dialogue” was held in Sanya, China. For the first time, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) organized the forum along with the Beijing Club for International Dialogue, the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies, and the China Public Diplomacy Association. The event became one of the first platforms for discussing the rapidly changing international political situation in 2025.
Ivan Timofeev, RIAC Director General and Wu Hailong, President of the Public Diplomacy Association of China, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China addressed the conference participants with welcoming remarks. The parties emphasized that even in the face of rapid geopolitical changes, productive cooperation between Russia and China will continue. Wu Hailong assured that partnership between Russia and China is a “long-term solution” for Beijing, and the policy towards Moscow will not change even in case of increased pressure from Washington. Ivan Timofeev urged to remember about practical issues of strengthening cooperation in the fields of economy and finance, energy and industry while maintaining the focus on the international context of the development of Russian–Chinese partnership.
On February 28 – March 1, 2025 the 3rd International Conference “China-Russia Sanya Dialogue” was held in Sanya, China. For the first time, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) organized the forum along with the Beijing Club for International Dialogue, the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies, and the China Public Diplomacy Association. The event became one of the first platforms for discussing the rapidly changing international political situation in 2025.
Ivan Timofeev, RIAC Director General and Wu Hailong, President of the Public Diplomacy Association of China, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China addressed the conference participants with welcoming remarks. The parties emphasized that even in the face of rapid geopolitical changes, productive cooperation between Russia and China will continue. Wu Hailong assured that partnership between Russia and China is a “long-term solution” for Beijing, and the policy towards Moscow will not change even in case of increased pressure from Washington. Ivan Timofeev urged to remember about practical issues of strengthening cooperation in the fields of economy and finance, energy and industry while maintaining the focus on the international context of the development of Russian–Chinese partnership.
The participants were also addressed by Igor Morgulov, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the People’s Republic of China and RIAC member and Zhang Hanhui, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Russian Federation. The Russian Ambassador noted, “Today’s Russian–Chinese ties are not only not inferior, but actually surpass the old alliance in terms of depth and mutual trust”. “Now we realize that the friendship between Russia and China will be eternal,” confirmed his Chinese counterpart Zhang Hanhui.
The first day of the conference was organized into three sessions held behind closed doors. At the first session “Russia and China in the New World Order” the participants discussed the directions of transformation of the world order in the 2020s. In particular, they focused on the relations between Russia, China, the US and India. The participants paid special attention to the developments in transatlantic relations after Donald Trump's return to the White House and the prospects for resolving the conflict in Ukraine. Russian and Chinese experts agreed that Moscow and Beijing should not perceive the emergence of a multipolar world order as the only possible scenario, but systematically work together for its realization.
Alexander Lomanov, Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) of the Russian Academy of Sciences and RIAC Member, Le Yucheng, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in 2018–2022, Andrey Sushentsov, Dean of the Faculty of International Relations at MGIMO University, Chen Xiaogong, Former Deputy Head of the CPC Foreign Affairs Office, Igor Istomin, the Head of the Department of Applied Analysis of International Problems at MGIMO University, and Yu Hongjun, Former Vice Minister of International Department of the CPC Central Committee delivered a speech at the first session. Jiang Feng, Chairman of the Board of the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies of Shanghai Foreign Studies University, Alexey Gromyko, Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and RIAC Member, Zhao Long, the Deputy Director of the Institute of Global Governance Studies of the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, Zhao Huasheng, the Professor of the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University and Chi Fulin, the Dean of the China Institute of Reform and Development also took part in the discussion.
The second session “Navigating Multilateral Cooperation in the Global South: Practices of China and Russia” was devoted to the possibilities of using institutions or other forms of multilateral cooperation to bring structure to the international system as a whole as well as its regional subsystems. The experts focused on searching for a formula to integrate the global majority countries into the global governance system as well as on the role of BRICS and SCO in this process. The role of traditional international institutions, such as the EU and NATO, also became a topic of discussion.
Feng Shaolei, Director of the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University, Alexey Gromyko, Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and RIAC Member, Wang Hui, Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences at Tsinghua University, Daria Ivankova, Director of the International Cooperation Division of the TV BRICS International Media Network, and Tang Xiaoyang, Head of the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University shared their views on this matter. Ding Yifan, Senior Researcher and former Deputy Director of the Research Institute of World Development of the Development Research Center of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Igor Istomin, Head of the Department of Applied Analysis of International Problems at MGIMO University, and Sun Lijie, Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Uzbekistan also participated in the discussion.
The conclusions reached during the discussion, primarily concerning Eurasian region, are planned to be developed in the future in order to build a sustainable security architecture in this area. Summarizing his speech, Alexey Gromyko, Director of the Institute of Europe of the RAS and RIAC Member noted, “The 'tyranny' of geography inevitably pushes [Eurasian countries] to normalize and harmonize relations in the region”.
During the closing session of the first day, “Sino-Russian Dialogue in the Arctic” participants presented Russian and Chinese views on the prospects for cooperation in the region, shared their opinions on the joint Russia–China energy projects in the Arctic and discussed ensuring safe and sustainable shipping in the area.
Wu Shicun, Founding President and Chairman of the Academic Committee of the National Institute of South China Sea Studies, Anatoly Nikolaev, Rector of Northeastern Federal University and RIAC Member, Zhao Long, Deputy Director of the Institute of Global Governance Studies of the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, Ivan Platonov, Deputy Director General for Business Analytics at Rosatom East Asia, Hong Nong, Executive Director of the Institute for China-America Studies, Igbal Guliyev, Deputy Director of the International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy at MGIMO University, Zhao Huasheng, Professor of the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University, and Irina Strelnikova, Associate Professor at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at HSE University participated in the discussion.
The sides set a plan to prepare a joint Russian–Chinese report on Arctic cooperation which would take into account the conclusions of the discussion.
The second day of the Conference was also held behind closed doors. Before the official part began, Russian and Chinese participants freely discussed the results of the U.S.–Ukrainian negotiations and their significance for the future settlement of the conflict in Europe. Both sides are concerned about the uncompromising position of the European Union, which is determined to continue the conflict.
The main session “Banking and Investment in Chinese–Russian Dialogue” once again drew the attention of experts to the need to complement the trade in goods as a way of increasing Russian–Chinese trade volume with investment and industrial cooperation, as well as joint R&D projects. Cao Honghui, Vice President of the National Development Bank Research Institute, Ivan Timofeev, RIAC Director General, Li Bo, General Manager of Guancha.cn, Executive Director of Shanghai Chunqiu Institute for Developmental Strategy, Alexey Maslov, Director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Lomonosov Moscow State University and RIAC Member, Xu Poling, the Director of the Center of Russian Economics Studies at the Institute of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Daniyar Akkaziev, Member of the Board of Directors of the TV BRICS Media Network, and Sofia Riazanova, Deputy Director of the Sino–Russian Research Center for Digital Economy at Lomonosov Moscow State University shared their ideas during the session. The presentations provoked a long and lively discussion, in which almost all the experts involved in the Conference took part.
The sessions were moderated by Han Hua, co-founder and Secretary General of the Beijing Club for International Dialogue, Ivan Timofeev, RIAC Director General, Julia Melnikova, Head of Asia and Eurasia Program at RIAC, and Jiang Feng, Chairman of the Board of the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies of Shanghai Foreign Studies University, respectively.
The conclusions and recommendations of the Conference will be presented to the policymakers in both countries.
