HARBIN, May 17. /TASS/. Clothing featuring quotes from Russian President Vladimir Putin is in high demand among Chinese visitors to the 10th Russia-China Expo in Harbin, Natalia Virtuozova, general director of the Rossiya National Center, reported.
"In the first few hours, we can see that the number one item is clothing with the president's quotes. The first purchase was made by a Chinese man - he bought a sweatshirt with the quote, 'We must definitely look to the future,'" Virtuozova said.
She emphasized that only the Rossiya National Center has the right to print the head of state's quotes with his personal signature.
Items with Russian-language prints have proven so popular with Chinese buyers that the Russian delegation fears a shortage of the brought-in stock.
Besides clothing, high-quality Russian handicrafts are generating immense interest among Expo visitors. As the head of the center noted, Orenburg, Pavlovo Posad, and modern silk scarves are selling out quickly, as are exclusive, expensive tumbler dolls made of sable fur by an Evenki manufacturer.
The success of the flagship department store concept has already attracted the attention of Chinese businesses, with representatives of a Beijing shopping mall proposing to open a similar venue in the Chinese capital.
Virtuozova also shared plans for expanding the national center. According to her, a branch of the organization, along with a department store, will open in 2028 on the Bolshoy Ussuriysky border island in the Khabarovsk region, which is being jointly developed by Russia and China. Furthermore, a new building for the Rossiya National Center itself, a model of which is on display at the Harbin exhibition, will open in central Moscow on November 4, 2029.