[Big read] More Chinese learning Russian as China-Russia ties strengthen

Following the outbreak of the Ukraine war, China has enhanced its economic cooperation with Russia, leading to a surge in bilateral trade volume. This warming of economic exchanges has also sparked a fervour for learning Russian in China as the once overlooked language major regains its popularity. All these are linked to stronger bilateral ties between both countries. 

Early this year, 22-year-old Russian language major Dong Zhuoya quickly received job offers after she sent out three resumes; two were for overseas sales positions for the Russian market from a well-known Chinese household appliance company and an automobile company, while a private clothing and toys company in Guangdong also wanted to hire her as a Russian translator. 

Compared to many fellow university graduates who are still struggling to find employment, Dong got a job of her liking, along with the luxury of choice — this has a lot to do with her major in Russian language.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Dong said that of the fringe languages at her foreign studies school, those who studied Russian were among the most employable. Out of the 20 students from her graduating class, apart from those sent by the government or who went on their own to study in Russia, and those who continued studying for a Master’s degree in China, the remaining 10 students received multiple job offers.

Dong said: “We did not worry about not finding a job. Many industries like machinery, wood, clothing, home appliances, automobiles, and others are in urgent need of Russian translators and overseas sales personnel. It depends on whether we are willing to go.”

Russian was once the most popular foreign language in China. In the 1950s, in the golden age of bilateral relations between the former USSR and China, there was a wave in China of learning Russian — it was said that everyone could say “tovarishch” (comrade) and “khoroshiy” (good).

But the good times did not last. By the 1960s, bilateral ties became tense and interest in learning Russian cooled. After China’s reform and opening up, its people learned English instead. As for Russian, due to the economic malaise of the former USSR and Russia, and few job opportunities for Russian language majors, it became an unpopular course of study.

The current wave of interest in learning Russian can be traced to the Chinese government’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that was rolled out in 2013. Cultural and economic exchanges increased between China and over 60 countries along the BRI, with Russian being used in 12 of them. Given this demand, many colleges in China began to offer Russian language studies, while some secondary schools even started offering Russian as a foreign language subject for the gaokao, or university entrance exam. 

Besides, over the past ten years, China and Russia have both faced pressure from the West, and they have strengthened their cooperation in many areas including economy and trade. In particular, following the Ukraine war in 2022, bilateral trade surged within two years, expanding by 63.5% from US$146.8 billion in 2021 to US$240.1 billion in 2023. China’s current wave of interest in Russian is also driven by the under-supply of talent in the language.

Data from China’s General Administration of Customs show that in terms of bilateral trade between China and Russia, Chinese exports to Russia have rapidly increased. In 2023, Chinese exports to Russia grew by 46.9% while imports grew by 12.7%. Chinese exports to Russia comprise mainly cars, smartphones, machinery and equipment, and daily necessities, while China imports energy and raw materials, such as oil and natural gas, coal, and wood from Russia.

Sun Lei, chairman of the Russia Far East Federation of Chinese Businesses (俄罗斯远东华人工商联合会) told Lianhe Zaobao that since the start of the Ukraine war, companies from Europe, the US, Japan, and South Korea have withdrawn from the Russian market, and Russia is looking for alternative supplies from the East. Chinese companies have seized the opportunity to become the leading replacements and are trying to outdo each other in ramping up their investments in Russia.

Take the automobile market for example. Before the Ukraine war, European, US, Japanese and South Korean cars sold well. After sanctions were imposed on Russia, Western car brands withdrew from the country, but there was still a lot of demand for cars in Russia. Sun noted that due to China’s proximity to Russia and the cost-effectiveness and competitiveness of Chinese cars — particularly in the new energy vehicle sector — China’s vehicle sales to Russia have seen a significant increase.

Russia’s Sputnik news agency cited data from market analytics firm Autostat that Chinese car brands accounted for 61% of the new passenger cars sold in Russia in June 2024, while continental, Japanese, and South Korean car makers accounted for 1.9%, 1.8% and 1.3% respectively.

In the first half of this year, the Chinese auto brands Chery, Haval, Geely, and Changan ranked among the top five for auto sales in Russia. Among them, Chery’s sales in Russia increased by 51.3% when compared with the same period last year.

With economic exchanges between China and Russia, Chinese companies are naturally thirsty for Russian-speaking professionals. Major Chinese online recruitment platforms like Liepin, BOSS Zhipin, and 51Job are recruiting Russian-speaking talents for both private and public companies, with plenty of demand for Russia-related job openings, such as for Russian translators, trade representatives stationed in Russia, and cross-border e-commerce.

With Russian-speaking talent highly sought after, some Chinese companies that are eager for a slice of the Russian market have said in their recruiting advertisements that applicants need not have prior experience, but only need to be fluent in speaking Russian, and will be responsible for business development and follow-up with key clients in Russian-speaking areas.  

A fur company in Jinhua, Zhejiang started focusing on the Russian market in the past two years. When interviewed, general manager Wang Tao said that since the Ukraine war, the company’s main exports shifted from the US and Japan to Russia. “While there are some issues with payment collection, on the whole our business in Russia has been going well these two years.”

To quickly increase his company’s market share in Russia, three months ago Wang started urgently recruiting two Russian-speaking business executives on major hiring websites and among his friends, offering a basic salary of 7,000 RMB (US$992). However, given the short supply of Russian-speaking talent, there were no takers for Wang’s vacancies as of mid-August.

A monthly salary of 7,000 RMB is actually slightly higher than the average for this year’s Chinese universities graduating cohort. According to the 2024 Chinese Graduate Employment Report published by MyCOS, a research agency focusing on higher education data, the average monthly income of 2023 college graduates in the six months after graduation is 6,050 RMB, while the average monthly salary for higher-paid IT graduates is 6,802 RMB.

Besides business and trade relations, China and Russia are also getting closer in terms of people-to-people exchanges like overseas education and tourism. In early 2023, the China Scholarship Council sent a document to provincial education authorities to recruit and sponsor high school graduates for overseas education in Russia, with a focus on science and engineering majors including precision science, aerospace, mechanical manufacturing and nuclear energy.

The cost of studying in Russia is much lower than in Europe and the US. Furthermore, Russia has a comprehensive education system, so studying there is becoming more popular among Chinese students. According to the Russian newspaper, Izvestia, data from the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education indicate that the number of Chinese students studying in Russia has gone up the most, increasing by 39% in 2023.

Sun Lei of the business federation noted that Chinese students who graduated from Russian universities are in high demand, especially those who did energy or nuclear energy studies. “Even before graduating, they have signed contracts with large state-owned-enterprises, so they do not have to worry about employment and only need to focus on their studies.”

Tourism between both countries has also increased. In 2023, the resumption of visa-free group travel and the opening of more direct flight routes made China the biggest source of tourists for Russia. The trend has continued this year, with 98,900 Chinese citizens travelling to Russia in the first quarter of this year, 16 times that of the same period last year. Concurrently, the number of Russians travelling to China increased threefold year-on-year to 326,900, making China the most popular business travel destination for Russians.  

As China and Russia grow closer, the strong uptrends in their economic and people-to-people exchanges would create more job opportunities, and encourage more Chinese to learn and speak Russian. 

While interest in learning Russian is on the rise in China due to closer political and economic ties between both countries, experts feel that it is still a far cry from the Russian-learning fervour of the 1950s.

Zhao Guoshun, a Russian language translator with China’s Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, told Lianhe Zaobao that the current Chinese interest in Russian is just a fad in response to the Ukraine war.

He said the number of Chinese who are learning Russian cannot compare to the Russian-learning fervour of the 1950s, nor will Russian replace English.    

Zhao noted that there is a huge gap between the number of applicants for the English and Russian translation exams administered by the China International Communications Group. While the English translation proficiency exams are held twice a year, with over 100,000 applicants for each of its three proficiency levels, the Russian exam is only held once a year, and the number of applicants for its three levels “is at most 1,000 to 2,000 in total”.

Wei Xinmin, chairman of the ATC Group (枫华艾蒂克集团) in Beijing and vice-chairman of the former-USSR chapter of the Western Returned Scholars Association, shares the same sentiment. He said that the close political and economic ties between China and Russia have led to a lot more Chinese students studying overseas in Russia at their own expense. But when it comes to learning a foreign language, English is still the top choice for Chinese parents and students, with a very much smaller number opting for Russian.

He said: “To Chinese parents and students, Russian is far less prestigious than English, and will not replace it.”

Over two years into the war in Ukraine, China-Russia relations have not become distant as the West anticipated. On the contrary, both countries have grown closer, with frequent interactions between their leaders.

In March 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping went on a state visit to Russia shortly after being returned to office, and signed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin the Joint Statement of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for the New Era and the Joint Statement on Pre-2030 Development Plan on Priorities in China-Russia Economic Cooperation. In May this year, Putin also made China the first foreign country he visited following his re-election, and both countries signed over 10 agreements to cooperate in various areas.

From 20 to 22 August, Chinese Premier Li Qiang made an official visit to Russia and participated in the 29th regular meeting between the Chinese and Russian heads of government. Li’s visit coincided with the invasion of Russian territories by Ukrainian forces, and the mass drone attack Ukraine launched on Moscow on 21 August. However, Li’s itinerary was not affected, underlining the importance that Chinese leaders attach to bilateral ties. 

During Li’s visit, both countries signed a joint communique and an updated Outline of the China-Russia Investment Cooperation Plan. They also signed agreements to cooperate in education, science and technology, chemical industry, green construction, maritime search and rescue, cross-border cargo transport, and facilitation of citizen exchanges.

At a press conference, the Russian Minister for Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, said that the governments of both countries have reached an agreement to the updated China-Russia investment cooperation plan. The China-Russia investment cooperation joint committee now holds 86 major projects totalling 18 trillion roubles (US$193.9 billion), covering natural gas, the chemical industry, household electronics manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and automobiles.

The joint communique also mentioned the need to enhance cooperation between both countries’ banking and insurance industries, and promote the steady development of Chinese and Russian banks and insurance organisations operating in both countries; consolidate and develop the existing payment and settlement infrastructure, including opening agency accounts and branches in each other’s country, and maintain the high local currency settlement ratio in bilateral trade, investment, credit, and other economic and trade activities.  

After the Ukraine war broke out, Russia was severely sanctioned by Western countries, and currency payment and settlement between China and Russia met with major obstacles. While Russia estimates that the local currency settlement ratio has exceeded 95% in its bilateral trade with China, RMB and roubles payments between them are still not smooth. Setting up a China-Russia payment settlement infrastructure would allow both countries to completely circumvent the US-led Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) payment system, and further promote bilateral trade and investments.

According to China’s General Administration of Customs, from January to July, China-Russia bilateral trade grew by 1.6% year-on-year to reach US$136.7 billion.

In response to Chinese hopes of direct access to the Sea of Japan, China and Russia announced in May that it would commence constructive dialogue with North Korea for Chinese ships to enter the Sea of Japan via the Tumen River. Currently, one of the main obstacles to Chinese vessels sailing down the Tumen River to the sea is a bridge connecting Russia and North Korea near the river mouth. When Putin visited North Korea in June, the two countries decided to construct a new cross-border bridge on the Tumen River that would give Chinese ships access to the sea. As such, Putin was praised by the Chinese for “earnestly doing good for China”.

In their joint communique, the premiers also stated that both countries would continue to engage in constructive dialogue on the issue of Chinese vessels using the lower reaches of the Tumen River to access the sea.

At the same time, China and Russia also discussed further the implementation of the Heixiazi Island (or Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island) joint conservation and development plan, and decided to hold a second joint working meeting on the matter before the end of this year.  

For a long time, Heixiazi Island along the China-Russia border was disputed territory. In 2008, both countries managed to resolve the dispute, with sovereignty of half the island going to China. Plans by the two countries to jointly develop the island would result in both having stakes and laying a stronger foundation in developing Russia’s Far East.

Since the Ukraine war, Russia has faced unprecedentedly tough sanctions from the West, with the US and its allies often accusing China of lending support to the Russian military industry. However, political and strategic trust between both countries have continued to deepen. As trade and economic links between China and Russia continue to grow rapidly, Chinese companies are using the opportunity to take the place of Western companies in Russia. 

For a Russia entrenched in war, China, with its strong industrial production, is not only its most important political and trade partner but also a crucial supporter. Consequently, relations with China have become a top priority in Russia’s foreign policy.

For China, under all-around pressure from the US, although Russia is in major trouble and its influence is far from what it used to be, it is still an important strategic ally that can be counted on. Besides, Russia possesses vast quantities of strategic resources like energy and food that China needs in the long term, so China is unlikely to neglect Russia despite US pressure.

It is mutual strategic needs and interests that have brought China and Russia closer together.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “俄乌打出了俄语热 中国拼经济讲得通”.

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