China and Russia are friendly neighbours with a long-standing history of friendship. The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory in the Great Patriotic War and the 80th anniversary of China's victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Coinciding with the China-Russia Year of Culture and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Beijing-Moscow sister-city relations, the Moscow City Government, with the support of the Beijing Municipal People's Government, will host the "Moscow Culture Festival" series of events in Beijing from June 12 to 15. During this period, the conference "Future Cities: Synergies in the Strategic Partnership between Moscow and Beijing" will be organised, aiming to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two cities in key areas of urban development.

The session was chaired by Nadia Perepodbenaya, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation. Russian institutions, including the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve of the Moscow Kremlin, the Moscow Transport Museum, the Moscow State United Museum-Reserve, and the State Tretyakov Gallery, alongside Chinese museums such as the Capital Museum and the World Music Culture Museum, explored new pathways for bilateral museum cooperation in the context of the China-Russia Year of Culture. This collaboration aims to inject fresh vitality into urban cultural exchange and museum development.

Zhang Jingxuan, Founder and Director of the Dalian World Music Culture Museum in China, was invited by the Moscow City Government to participate in the parallel session "Organization and Implementation of Bilateral International Museum Projects Between Moscow and Beijing, and Prospects for Museum Development," where he delivered a keynote speech and discussed cooperation with representatives from the museum sectors of China and Russia.

Brief Recap

"At the May 2025 International Museum Festival in the Russian Federation, we engaged in in-depth discussions with institutions such as the Hermitage Museum (Winter Palace) and the Russian State Museum of Music on innovative approaches to heritage preservation and public education, "Director Zhang Jingxuan recalled in his keynote address. His speech," Advocating New Museum Concepts: Making Museum Visits a New Lifestyle for Contemporary People," received high recognition from industry authorities, including Olga Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, and Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the Hermitage Museum.

At this Beijing forum, he further elaborated on four dimensions: "public welfare and charitable activities, museum-business collaboration, international exchange and cooperation, and innovative development for the future." He specifically proposed the cooperative concept of "building a platform for cultural mutual learning between Chinese and Russian youth through music." Addressing Generation Z's preference for digital and immersive experiences, he plans to link the "Music Heritage Digitization Project" at the Dalian World Music Culture Museum with the collection resources of Russian museums to develop cross-border immersive cultural experience programs. This initiative aims to enable Generation Z to engage in transnational ensemble performances within digital spaces, fostering a two-way construction of cultural understanding among youth from both nations through interactive engagement.