Russian-Chinese Group for Contacts and Cooperation in Religious Sphere meets in Beijing

DECR Communication Service, 06/04/2026

On 3^rd April 2026, the Russian-Chinese Working Group for Contacts and Cooperation in Religious Sphere held its eighth meeting, this time on the premises of the National Religious Affairs Administration in Beijing.

The Russian delegation included: Mr A.Yu. Vylegzhanin, deputy head of the Presidential Domestic Policy Directorate; Mr V.P. Nazarenko, deputy head of the Presidential Foreign Policy Directorate; Mr A.V. Tretyakov, executive secretary of the Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations; Mr L.Sh. Salimullin, Minister-Counsellor of the Russian Embassy in China; Mr V.V. Fadeyev, deputy director of the First Asian Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr. P.N. Kostylev of the Presidential Domestic Policy Directorate; Mr A.A. Maslov, director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies of the Moscow State University; Mr K.V. Babaev, director of the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Mufti Albir Krganov, head of the Spiritual Assembly of the Muslims of Russia; and Geshe Yonten Lodoy, chairman of the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists.

Taking part in the meeting with the blessing of the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate was Hieromonk Kirill (Peregudin) of the DECR Secretariat for Far Abroad Countries.

Representing China at the meeting were Mr Duan Yijun, director of the National Religious Affairs Administration; Mr Qin He, NRAA deputy director; as well as representatives of the local Buddhist, Taoist, Catholic and Islamic communities.

The participants in the meeting discussed a wide range of topics concerning Russia-China cooperation in religious sphere, in particular, prospects of advancing exchanges between religious communities and promotion of educational and research initiatives and traditional values. They pointed out the importance of further dialogue in religious sphere as part of humanitarian cooperation between the two countries.

Within the framework of the Working Group’s meeting, a round table took place on Adaptation of Religion to Local Society and Culture.

While in China, the Russian delegation visited the Holy Dormition Church in the territory of the Russian Embassy and the museum of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, as well as the Dongsi Mosque, the Chinese Islamic Association, the Taoist Baiyun Monastery, the Chinese Catholic Association, and the Buddhist Guangji Temple.

On 4^th April, the delegation members visited the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. Its President, Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing, welcomed the guests and congratulated them on the 80^th anniversary of the establishment of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. Archbishop Joseph also expressed his interest in developing relations with Orthodox Christians from Russia. Hieromonk Kirill (Peregudin), in his turn, thanked Archbishop Joseph for his willingness to provide Catholic church buildings to the Orthodox Christian community in Beijing for divine services and greeted him on the coming Feast of Easter. The DECR representative presented to the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association an icon of the Saviour and collected spiritual hymns in the Russian and Chinese languages.

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Russian-Chinese Group for Contacts and Cooperation in Religious Sphere meets in Beijing

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons