During Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia, China Media Group (CMG) and All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) in Moscow on Tuesday.

The MoC aims to deepen the consensus reached by the two heads of state and promote comprehensive, multi-level, and all-round cooperation in various fields. As part of this effort, both sides agreed to collaborate on the development and utilization of historical audiovisual materials.

At the ceremony, VGTRK presented a batch of newly discovered audiovisual materials to CMG. The films were confiscated by the Soviet Red Army from the Japanese Kwantung Army in northeast China and show the political and military situation in northeast China in the 1930s.

Shen Haixiong, President of CMG, and Oleg Dobrodeev, CEO of VGTRK signed the agreement and delivered speeches.

Shen said President Xi has repeatedly emphasized that history is the best teacher. History can illuminate the future, guide us to move forward correctly, and lead us towards the right path, he said.

"CMG possesses abundant historical resources, and hopes that both sides can complement each other's strengths, share resources, jointly develop and make good use of historical audiovisual materials, and deepen mutual understanding and the traditional friendship between the two peoples," said Shen.

Dobrodeev said the historical audiovisual materials gifted to CMG are a form of precious cultural heritage that has not been utilized before. VGTRK is willing to collaborate with CMG in joint research and development, restoration, preservation, and digital technology applications to let more people understand and learn about the respective history of each country.

According to the pact, CMG and VGTRK will establish a communication mechanism to share information on historical audiovisual materials related to each other's countries in a timely manner; jointly carry out the restoration and protection of historical audiovisual materials; and strengthen the joint research, development and use of digital restoration technology in regards to historical audiovisual materials.

In addition, the two sides will collaborate on planning and producing documentaries and special programs and promote them on both of their platforms.