Russia sees a boom in Chinese classes as it seeks to tighten ties with China, according to AFP.

Chinese tutor Kirill Burobin said the number of his students has tripled over the past year.

"Sunday is the busiest," 20-year-old Burobin, who makes a good living with his online lessons, told AFP.

"I have 16 hours of classes virtually without a break."

The boom in demand for Chinese lessons in Russia illustrates the country's pivot towards Asia.

Natalia Danina, a manager at HeadHunter, the country's top online recruitment company, said that last year there were nearly 11,000 vacancies requiring knowledge of the Chinese language, a 44 percent increase compared to 2021.

Over the same period, the number of jobs for Chinese speakers in Russia has doubled in sales, transport and logistics, said Danina, pointing to an "accelerated transition" to Chinese-made equipment and spare parts.

Demand for Chinese speakers in energy jobs has tripled, she added.

AFP