2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. On May 7, 2025, an article signed by President Xi Jinping entitled Learning from History to Build Together a Brighter Future was published in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta ahead of his state visit and attendance at the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War. In the piece, he paid tribute to Yan Baohang, a legendary intelligence agent of the Communist Party of China known as the "Richard Sorge of the East."

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Yan Baohang obtained vital strategic intelligence, including information on Germany's planned attack on the Soviet Union and the deployment plans of the Japanese Kwantung Army. These efforts made significant contributions to China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the global anti-fascist war effort. In recognition of his historic service, he was posthumously awarded commemorative medals by both China and Russia.