BEIJING, September 15. /TASS/. This year’s Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) was focused on expansion of practical cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries, Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of China and Contemporary Asia Kirill Babayev told TASS.

"This year’s Eastern Economic Forum was focused mainly on expansion of practical cooperation with countries of the Asia-Pacific region. This was also demonstrated by the number of guests from countries of the Asia-Pacific region, including but not limited to ASEAN states. I saw guests from Japan, South Korea, whose business seeks to avoid breaking relations with Russia," he said. The forum’s sessions, many of which were devoted particularly to cooperation with business circles of Asian countries, also demonstrated it, the expert added.

"Of course, this year special consideration was given to development of relations with China," Babayev stressed, adding that more than 300 companies from China were present at the forum’s events, hitting a record of the recent years, which "shows that our Chinese friends are looking at both the Russian economy and the possibilities opening up in Far Eastern regions more and more attentively."