On August 17 local time, the opening ceremony of the 4th International Forum "SPROUTS: Russia and China – Mutually Beneficial Cooperation" was held in Kazan, capital of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan. The four-day forum features more than 50 industry-specific exchange events, focusing on areas such as trade, logistics, finance, energy, technology, industry, agriculture, and healthcare. 

The Republic of Tatarstan is one of Russia's most active regions engaging in cooperation with China. From 2015 to 2025, its trade volume with China increased from 264 million USD to 3.35 billion USD, a more than twelvefold growth. In recent years, the Republic of Tatarstan has established partnership with Hunan, Shandong, Sichuan, Anhui, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces, as well as Chongqing Municipality, in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology, people-to-people exchanges, and culture.

At this forum, participants will focus on discussing the best practical way for the "region-province" cooperation model. Based on the industrial characteristics of different regions, this model will establish more targeted cooperation mechanisms covering areas such as petrochemicals, machinery manufacturing, industrial equipment, agricultural complexes, logistics, digital technology, robotics, radio electronics, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals.

In an interview with a reporter from Hunan Daily, Taliya Minullina, chief executive of the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency and secretary of the Organizing Committee of the SPROUTS Forum, said that in recent years, Tatarstan and Hunan have continued to expand economic, trade, and people-to-people exchanges. In particular, the Confucius Institute jointly established by Kazan Federal University and Hunan Normal University has continuously deepened educational exchanges and cooperation between China and Russia. Language connectivity is one of the cornerstones of cooperation and exchange. 2026 and 2027 mark the China-Russia Years of Education. This June, the Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education and the two universities signed an agreement on the joint training of master's degree students in international Chinese language education. Tatarstan will take this event as an opportunity to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Hunan in various fields, continuously consolidate friendly relations, and achieve more cooperation results. 

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: Hunan Daily