Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov is to visit China from Wednesday through Friday and will attend the opening ceremony of the Year of Russian Language in China.

Russia has shown great interest in the upcoming event and is confident that the Year of Russian Language in China will be a success.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Russia highly appreciates the mature and firm bilateral ties, Zhukov told local media before leaving for Beijing.

Russia and China can be regarded as exemplars of friendly neighborhood and mutual respect in the international community, Zhukov said. He said that such friendship are a key factor for the construction of a fair, harmonious international order.

To hold events such as language years in both countries will not only help maintain the high level of mutual cooperation, but also promote it, he said.

Andrei Nesterenko, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, recently described the upcoming event as "very important". Nesterenko said it would not only enhance the bilateral relations, but also further the understanding between the two peoples, especially between their youths.

Within the framework of the Year of Russian Language, the two countries will stage a series of activities in the field of humanities. Those activities will include inviting children traumatized by the devastating earthquake in China's Wenchuan to Russian resorts, conducting knowledge contests on the Russian language for Chinese students, and launching Russian language centers in Chinese universities, Nesterenko said.

The Year of Russian Language has attracted attention from major Russian media such as the Voice of Russia, Itar-Tass, the Moskovski Komsomolez daily and state television.

The media's wide coverage of the language year event will help boost it among top leaders and among the people of both countries, said Aleksey Efimov, chief editor of the Chinese channel of the RIA Novosti website.

He believes that the event will greatly enhance mutual understanding and communications between China and Russia.

Vladimir Kurilov, president of Far Eastern State University, told Xinhua that Russia and China share a long history of friendly exchanges, and the two will grow closer as they get to know each other's languages.

"I believe that the language theme years will not be limited to education and humanities. The events will inject new vigor into the all-round cooperation between the two sides and the two peoples will get closer on the path of friendship," Kurilov said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev announced the start of the Years of the Chinese and Russian Languages on the last day of 2008. China will launch the Year of Russian Language this year, while Russia will stage the Year of Chinese Language in 2010.

(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2009)