Golikova reported a 50% increase in tourist traffic between Russia and China%

The tourist flow between Russia and China increased by another 50% in the first half of 2026. This was announced on October 19 by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova.

"The removal of visa barriers has obviously contributed to the growth of tourist exchanges. The tourist flow, the results of which we see in 2025, exceeded three million trips, but in the first half of 2026 alone it increased by another 50%," she said at a press conference of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation.

Golikova added that by the end of this year, more than 4 million trips between Russia and China are expected, and by 2030 it is planned to receive 5.5 million Chinese tourists. According to her, Russia intends to stimulate demand for trips between the two countries by increasing the number of flights and developing car tourism.

In addition, Golikova announced the creation of a subcommittee on cooperation in the social sphere, which will deal with the development of appropriate innovation infrastructure and will concern "every citizen of both the Russian Federation and the PRC."

"We also made an important decision to create another subcommittee on cooperation in the social sphere within our commission on humanitarian cooperation. She will deal with issues of social security, demography, support for the elderly, people with disabilities," explained the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on October 14 that the strategic link between Moscow and Beijing plays an important stabilizing role in the international arena. According to him, the countries' positions on most regional and international issues coincide or are very close. Lavrov expressed hope that this year the record in trade exchange with China will be broken.