Putin awards Friendship Order to Chinese National Grand Theater president

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday awarded a national award to Chen Ping, president of the National Grand Theater in Beijing, for his contribution to promoting Russia-China ties through cultural exchange.

Putin commended Chen for his efforts in strengthening relations between Russia and China with theater projects.

"I am glad to present you with the Order of Friendship," Putin said at the award ceremony. "Thanks to exchanges between peoples of both nations, the relations between Russia and China have reached an incredibly high level of true strategic partnership."

Founded in 1994, the Order of Friendship is meant to reward Russian citizens and foreign nationals for outstanding accomplishments in strengthening peace, friendship, cooperation and understanding between peoples.

Among those awarded are former President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge and Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon. XINHUA