President Deng Hui Attends China-Russia High-Level Economic Forum in Russia
As an important event of the “China-Russia Year of Education, during October 22–25, 2026, the China-Russia High-Level Economic Forum was held in St. Petersburg, Russia. Professor Deng Hui, President of JUFE, attended the Forum upon the invitation of Professor Maksimtsev, Rector of St. Petersburg State University of Economics. Professor Wang Shoukun, Dean of the School of Economics, and Dr. Gong Meijun from the School of Public Administration joined the delegation. During the visit, the delegation held in-depth academic exchanges with Russian universities, including St. Petersburg State University of Economics, RUDN University (Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia), and Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, yielding fruitful outcomes.
At the opening ceremony of the Forum, Deng Hui delivered a keynote speech entitled Reshaping China-Russia Cross-Border Corridors and Institutional Coordination amid the Evolving Global Landscape. He noted that, against the backdrop of profound shifts in the global order and the accelerated eastward reorientation of Russia’s foreign trade, bilateral trade between China and Russia has maintained robust growth. Cross-border corridors carry three-fold attributes: a carrier of production factors, a regional public good, and a strategic asset. Their performance is jointly determined by physical transit capacity, institutional conversion efficiency, and demand compatibility.
Notable progress has been achieved in hard connectivity, such as China-Russia border ports, railways, and Far Eastern ports. Nevertheless, practical constraints persist, including capacity strain, financing bottlenecks, divergent standards, climatic challenges, and institutional barriers. It is therefore imperative to strengthen alignment of planning frameworks, innovate financing models, advance mutual recognition of rules, deepen cooperation in the Arctic, and improve dual legal safeguards based on treaties and commercial arbitration. These efforts will help shift the bilateral relationship from asymmetric dependence to symmetrical interdependence and consolidate connectivity underpinning the China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era.
Wang Shoukun shared insights at a parallel forum. Focusing on advancing China-Russia economic and trade exchanges in the digital economy era, he presented China’s research and practices in digital economy and economic and trade cooperation, and put forward research proposals for boosting bilateral trade and economic collaboration.
Gong Meijun spoke at another parallel forum on mechanisms and pathways for cultivating innovative talents under the framework of China-Russia educational and people-to-people cooperation. He shared JUFE’s experience in deepening the joint training of international talents between China and Russia through platforms, including programs sponsored by the China Scholarship Council and Sino-foreign cooperative education initiatives approved by the Ministry of Education.
As an important agenda item of the Forum’s opening ceremony, President Deng Hui and Rector Maksimtsev of St. Petersburg State University of Economics signed an agreement on the joint establishment of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy on behalf of the two universities. The signing marks a new phase of cooperation between the two institutions in artificial intelligence and digital economy, and creates an important platform for practical collaboration, including joint research, talent training, and research commercialization.
JUFE and St. Petersburg State University of Economics Sign Agreement to Co-establish Research Center
Group Photo of Some Participating Guests and Representatives
During the visit, President Deng Hui also met with Rector Maksimtsev to exchange views on deepening bilateral cooperation and advancing the implementation of collaborative projects. He also called on JUFE students studying on exchange at St. Petersburg State University of Economics, inquired about their academic progress and daily life, and encouraged them to cherish this exchange opportunity, devote themselves to their studies, and achieve academic success. The delegation also held discussions with heads of institutions, including the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, exchanging in-depth views on disciplinary co-construction, faculty and student exchanges, and research collaboration, further expanding JUFE’s cooperation network with Russia.
Group Photo after Talks with Rector Maksimtsev of St. Petersburg State University of Economics
Group Photo after Exchange with JUFE Student Representatives Studying at St. Petersburg State University of Economics
This forum-participation represents a practical initiative taken by JUFE to support the “China-Russia Year of Education” and deepen educational exchanges and cooperation with Russia. It has further enhanced JUFE’s academic reputation in Russia and will play a positive role in sustaining and deepening future collaboration with Russian universities in digital economy, artificial intelligence, economic and trade cooperation, and talent training.
