On November 20, 2025, Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong met with the heads of delegations attending the 20th Russia-India-China Trilateral Academic Conference.

Sun Weidong congratulated the successful convening of the Russia-India-China Trilateral Academic Conference, underlined the significant importance of Russia-India-China (RIC) cooperation, and noted that the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, which charted a blueprint for China's development in the next five years and beyond. He said that China, Russia, and India are all representative emerging economies and influential major countries, and should further synergize their development strategies, advocate win-win cooperation, and act on multilateralism, so as to make their due contributions to international and regional peace, stability, development and prosperity. He expressed the hope that under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the three countries, the three sides will carry forward the RIC spirit of openness, solidarity, trust and cooperation, give full play to the RIC cooperation mechanism's role in strategic communication, expand exchanges among various circles such as local authorities, youth and scholars, and promote the steady development of the RIC cooperation mechanism. He also expressed the hope that scholars from the three countries will provide intellectual support for this endeavor.

Head of the Chinese delegation Chen Bo introduced the conference and its outcomes. Head of the Russian delegation Kirill V. Babaev and Head of the Indian delegation Alka Acharya spoke highly of the great importance of RIC cooperation. They said the conference was held in an open, constructive, and forward-looking atmosphere, and that they will continue to contribute insights and recommendations for RIC cooperation and promote the implementation to help the trilateral cooperation deliver more results.

The 20th Russia-India-China Trilateral Academic Conference, hosted by the China Institute of International Studies, was held in Beijing from November 18 to 19 under the theme of "RIC Cooperation in an Era of Century-defining Transformation". The three parties agreed that the 21st Russia-India-China Trilateral Academic Conference will be held in India in 2026.