BEIJING, July 12. /TASS/. The Russia-China Expo in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg became an important platform for boosting ties between the two countries’ regions, Spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce Gao Feng said at a briefing on Thursday.
"A forum that took place during the fair thoroughly discussed ways to intensify trade, economic, investment, scientific, cultural and infrastructure cooperation between the regions of China and Russia," he said. "This event proved to be an important platform for enhancing dialogue between Chinese and Russian companies, as well as between the two countries’ regional authorities," Gao Fend added.
According to the Chinese Commerce Ministry’s spokesman, Beijing is ready to boost pragmatic cooperation with Russia. For that purpose, the Chinese government will employ various cooperation formats aimed at strengthening bilateral ties. Gao Feng emphasized that Beijing would like businessmen and members of the public in China and Russia to get to know the national specificities of the two countries better and broaden mutually beneficial contacts.
The Fifth Russia-China Expo, which involves 15 Chinese provinces, is taking place in Yekaterinburg on July 9-12. As many as 186 Chinese companies are participating in the fair, as well as dozens of Russian companies from various regions of the country. A total of 24 events have been organized on the sidelines of the Expo, including 14 joint ones. Eight of them were organized by China’s Heilongjiang province and another two by China’s central government. According to preliminary estimates, 42,000 guests have visited the exhibition, including about 2,000 Chinese businessmen.