Interest in Chinese is growing in Russia - President Vladimir Putin told reporters on the sidelines of the St Peterburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025) on June 18, revealing that his niece speaks fluent Chinese with a Beijingese tutor.
During a late-night question-and-answer session with directors of international news agencies and the Xinhua News Agency, Fu Hua asked President Putin about the deepening cultural exchanges between Russia and China and the Russian leader's comments last year that "members of his family are interested in China and some of them are learning Chinese".
"When I mentioned that some of my close relatives are learning Chinese, I was talking about my niece. I have a teacher from Beijing and speak Chinese fluently to her," Putin said.
"In the early 2000s, my daughter started to proactively learn Chinese - just because she wanted to. I hired a teacher and learned," Putin added.
The Russian president noted that there are more than 50,000 Chinese students studying in Russia and more than 21,000 Russian students studying in China. Universities in both countries have direct connections, further strengthening the relationship and "connections in all fields" between the two countries.
