Xi, Putin send congratulatory messages to first China-Russia university

Shenzhen MSU-BIT University [File photo: sina.com.cn]

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday   both sent congratulatory messages to celebrate the inaugural semester of   Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, the first joint Sino-Russian university.
Xi   said that education is a major impetus for the development of a country and a   key bond to promote exchanges between different peoples.
There has been   close contacts between universities from both countries in recent years, as   China and Russia have undertaken in-depth cooperation in education, said Xi,   adding that the cooperation has played a positive role in promoting mutual   understanding between the two peoples as well as the development of the   Sino-Russian comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.
"Under   an agreement reached by President Putin and I, the establishment of Sino-Russian   Shenzhen MSU-BIT University is an important achievement in bilateral cultural   and people-to-people exchanges and is of great demonstration significance," said   Xi in the message.
He encouraged education officials and teachers from   both countries to look to each other's advantages and the potential for   cooperation to speed up the future development of the university, build a   high-level university and train top-quality talent, thus contributing to   Sino-Russian educational cooperation and bilateral friendship.
Calling   educational cooperation a key component of the Russia-China strategic   partnership, Putin said in his message that direct contact between universities   in both countries has expanded year by year; the scale of student exchanges has   been improved and high school students from both countries have formed a   tradition to have holiday in the other country's national resorts.
He   said he believes that the Russia-China university, founded on the basis of two   well-known universities from Beijing and Moscow, will further enhance friendship   and understanding between the two peoples and that graduates from the university   will become sought after in Russia, China and around the world.
Shenzhen   MSU-BIT University, located in the south China city of Shenzhen, is a university   jointly founded by the Shenzhen municipal government, Beijing Institute of   Technology (BIT) and Russia's Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU).