China and Russia have joined forces to co-produce an animated series titled “Panda and Happy Ball” — a landmark collaboration between CCTV Animation of China and Riki Group of Russia. The series features two beloved characters: a panda, one of China’s most famous animation figures, and a jumping rabbit, a popular character from Russian animation.
“This animation series will be on air in both China and Russia. In one year, children in both countries can watch it on their televisions,” said Cai Zhijun, Managing Director of CCTV Animation. “We hope to present a world-class animation series, not only for Chinese and Russian children but also for kids across the world”.
China’s Vice-Premier Liu Yandong, along with her Russian counterpart Olga Golodets, attended a ceremony in Guangzhou for the project. Liu expressed her hopes for the series: “China and Russia have made remarkable achievements on humanities cooperation, which is an excellent example of civilization dialogues between great powers. And I hope this animation can be a bridge that could help peoples of the two countries understand each other”.
This is the first time China and Russia have coordinated on such an animation project. Ilya Popov, General Producer of Riki Group and President of the Russian Animation Association, told CGTN that he hoped their favorite cartoon characters can also make a big impression on Chinese children.
The animation project was announced during the 18th session of the China-Russia Committee on Humanities Cooperation held in Guangzhou, where education cooperation topped the agenda. During the China-Russia Education Strategic Dialogue, experts compared the countries’ education systems and explored ways they could benefit from each other.
As part of broader cultural and educational cooperation, a university co-founded by Russia’s Moscow University and China’s Beijing Institute of Technology held its opening ceremony in Shenzhen. Yaroslav Kouzminov, Chancellor of the Higher School of Economics, National Research University of Russia, noted that China and Russia “should find the solutions together, because they have lots of similarities in education system”.
The animation series represents a creative bridge between the two cultures, introducing children in both countries to each other’s storytelling traditions and beloved characters. It exemplifies the shift from sporadic cultural events to systematic, multi-level collaboration that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently highlighted as a hallmark of Russia-China humanitarian cooperation.
