On June 8, 2018, the award ceremony of the first Friendship Medal of the People's Republic of China was held in the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People. President Xi Jinping awarded Russian President Vladimir Putin the Friendship Medal which symbolizes China’s highest state honor to foreigners.

Chen Yuan, former CPPCC Vice Chairman and President of the China-Russia Friendship Association, and Li Xiaolin, CPAFFC President and Chairperson of the Think Tank Council of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development, attended the ceremony. In addition, the CPAFFC specially invited almost 60 guests to attend the event, including leaders and members of the China-Russia Friendship Association, Dmitry Mezentsev, Chairman of Russia’s Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy and Chairman of the Russia-China Friendship Association, Evgeny Opasov, Head of the Association of Veterans of the WWII and Military Service of Russia, Chinese and Russian friendly personages, as well as representatives of relatives of the Soviet veterans who fought for China.

Established on January 1, 2016, the Friendship Medals of the People's Republic of China are presented to foreign friends who have made outstanding contributions to China's modernization drive, promoting exchange and cooperation between China and the world, and safeguarding world peace.

CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin and Galina Kulikova, First Vice Chairperson of the Russia-China Friendship Association