ST. PETERSBURG -- Chinese Ambassador Li Hui said Tuesday the success of the Chinese language competition was a living embodiment of the ever-deepening relations between Russia and China.

"The success of the competition will definitely help the spread of the Chinese language in Russia," Li told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

Li said he believed the success of the competition is a vivid testament to the continuous development of China-Russia relations and to the increasing cultural cooperation between the two countries.

The second national "Chinese Bridge" competition for Russian university students was held here on Tuesday, with the winners set to sail into an international contest to be held in China.

"In my view, the five teams who took part in this year's competition were of an extremely high level, and displayed a broad range of knowledge of Chinese language and culture," Li said.

The ambassador also pointed out that the decision to hold the second "Chinese Bridge" contest in St. Petersburg's magnificent and iconic Hermitage Theater carries a profound symbolic significance.

Li added he believed a similar competition for elementary and middle school students in Russia could be just as successful, which will push the spread of the Chinese language in Russia even further.

The "Chinese Bridge" Competition expanded to national level in Russia in 2012 after being limited to the Moscow area in previous years.

In the run-up to this year's nationwide competition, students from all over the country signed up to participate in regional preliminaries, with five teams of five students each from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Siberia and the Russian Far East selected for the finals.