This year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Russia, and "we hope presenting Spartacus, a most representative repertoire of the Bolshoi Ballet can help to increase our mutual understanding," Vaziev said at the press conference on Oct 16. "Through the past century Chinese ballet has achieved great progress, and developed a distinctive style of its own," he said. "In this process, quite a lot of Russian artists had played their parts and made their impacts, proving the long and enduring friendship between our two nations."