The Russian president has touted the growing cultural exchanges between the two nations
Interest in the Chinese language is growing in Russia, President Vladimir Putin told journalists on the sidelines of the SPIEF 2025 forum, revealing that his own granddaughter speaks the language fluently with her tutor from Beijing.
During a late-night Q&A session with heads of international news agencies, the president of Xinhua News Agency, Fu Hua, asked President Putin about the deepening humanitarian exchanges between China and Russia – and the Russian leader’s remark last year that his “family members are interested in China, and some of them are learning Chinese.”
“When I mentioned that some of my close relatives are studying Chinese, I was referring to my granddaughter, who has a teacher from Beijing and speaks fluently with her in Chinese,” Putin said.
“My daughter, back in the early 2000s, started proactively learning Chinese – just because she wanted to. She hired a teacher and studied,” he added.
The Russian president noted that over 50,000 Chinese students are studying in Russia, and more than 21,000 Russian students are studying in China, adding that universities in both nations enjoy direct contacts, further reinforcing ties and “contacts in all fields” between the two countries.
