OPINION: Indonesian relations with China: Playing it hard, soft or smart?
The Jakarta Post, 2 April 2007. Russia's "Year of China" has officially begun, following the success of last year's "Year of Russia" in China, which began after Chinese President Hu Jintao's visited to Moscow from March 26 to 28 this year. The two countries have been exchanging cultural and social "ambassadors" for the last two years. Such efforts have been attempts to bridge the gap between the dynamic progress of the high-level government relationship and the more stagnant development of people-to-people relations. Throughout 2006, China hosted over 300 Russian cultural and educational events, including several Sino-Russian economic forums with audiences in excess of 500,000 people. In Russia, the plan for 2007 is to have around 200 events Chinese-themed events, ranging from a national exhibition (which being feted as the biggest all-inclusive event held by China abroad for three decades), to media exchanges, cultural festivals and bu