Minister-Counsellor Sergey Kramintsev (second from left), Governor of the Vologda Region Georgy Filimonov? (third from left) and Wu Bin (fourth from left) attend the award ceremony at the Embassy of the Russian Federation on November 22, 2025. Photo: Dong Feng/GT

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in China hosted an award ceremony at the Red Mansion of the embassy in Beijing on November 22. 

Wu Bin, former chairman of the Technical Committee of the International Wushu Federation, was awarded the Order of Friendship by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was represented by the Governor of the Vologda Region Georgy Filimonov‌. 

Wu was awarded for his significant contributions to Chinese-Russian sports. 

The award ceremony was chaired by Minister-Counsellor Sergey Kramintsev, Russia's chargé d'affaires in China. 

Wu, one of the world's most renowned martial arts masters, has trained numerous successful athletes, including actor Jet Li and Chinese action movie star Donnie Yen.

"Granted by a decree, Russian ­President Vladimir Putin awarded Mr Wu Bin the Russian Federation State award - the Russian Order of ­Friendship, a prestigious honor bestowed only upon those who have made outstanding contributions to ­mutual understanding between ­countries and deserve the highest level of ­recognition," Russia's chargé d'affaires in China, Kramintsev announced in his welcome remarks. 

"As one of China's top martial arts masters and educators, he enjoys a special status in the industry due to his unique martial arts style, profound expertise, and outstanding contributions to the development of martial arts. For decades, he has cultivated a large number of outstanding students, whose achievements are renowned worldwide, making significant contributions to the promotion of Chinese martial arts," said Kramintsev. 

He noted that Russia highly appreciates Wu's contributions to strengthening bilateral cultural exchanges. Martial arts, as an important component of spiritual culture, have become a vital bridge between the peoples of China and Russia.

In the awarding speech, Filimonov said, "This is of great significance for deepening the strategic partnership and for strengthening the friendship between our two countries, as our two heads of state have attached great importance to the development of sports between China and Russia."

Filimonov, who is also the ­Ambassador for the Promotion of ­Russian Martial Arts, has been learning martial arts from his father at an early age. 

He shared that President Putin has stressed the great significance of Wushu and the Russian traditional sport of Sambo for developing these sports between China and Russia. 

Moreover, Filimonov pointed out that martial arts have grown into a very popular and well-developed sport in Russia.

He told the Global Times that ­martial arts, with its enormous ­potential, could play an even more important role in China-Russia cultural exchanges. 

Martial arts have been introduced to the physical education classes in middle school in Russia's Vologda region.

"Wu has made tremendous contributions to the promotion and development of this fighting art internationally, and played an important role in the growth of the Russian national team into a world-class team," Filimonov told the Global Times.

Martial arts are not only a traditional competitive art with a very long history, but also contain profound philosophy and thought. They serve as a vital link in strengthening mutual understanding and communication among people.

Therefore, through martial arts, we can use this grassroots diplomatic channel to further enhance understanding and friendship among our peoples, the governor said. 

Wu told the Global Times that he is honored to receive the award. 

"I think this is a unique aspect of the Wushu exchange. We have had this exchange for four to five decades, especially, since the kung fu movies, the original Shaolin Temple of China, got screened, Russian youth have become particularly fond of Wushu activities, so it is developing even better now." 

Wu also said that during his trip to Moscow to attend a national martial arts competition, he was impressed by the delegates' performances, whose ages ranged from children to youth.

Wushu has been included as a medal sport in the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympics, which is often regarded as a key indicator for the introduction of new sports into the Olympics.