The article analyzes the specific characteristics of Russian-Chinese cultural cooperation in the early XXI century. The authors pay special attention to the Cross Years of Cultures as an actual and perspective form of intercultural dialogue. The format of the Cross Years of Cultures and the program of their implementation were considered by the authors on the example of the Cross Years of Russia and China (2006-2007). The article identifies the features and prospects of Cross Yearsas a form of contemporary bilateral cultural cooperation and their role in political and economic cooperation.