Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a gala performance on Wednesday marking the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries at Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

President Putin delivered a speech in which he indicated that, since the establishment of diplomatic ties 70 years ago, Russia-China relations have gone through extraordinary development. The two sides have supported and helped each other and pushed bilateral relations to a historic high.

Xi hailed the historical friendship between the two countries. He said China and Russia have enjoyed strong and unbreakable friendship, as Chinese people and people of the former Soviet Union worked together and fought against fascists during WWII.

Xi and Putin watched a video from a themed event of cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Russia and enjoyed an artistic performance by artists from the two countries.

The performance kicked off with a Russian folk song. Then, Chinese orchestral performances also added to the festive atmosphere.

Chinese and Russian artists performed one of the most renowned Chinese folk songs, “Mo Li Hua”, the song of Jasmine and a piece of Russian music, “Red Berries in Blossom”, together to express their praise for the traditional friendship between the two countries.

 The performance ended in the Russian folk music “Kalinka”.

About 1,600 people from all walks of life in China and Russia attended the event.