KAZAN, August 17. /TASS/. Winners of the "Dragon Boat" races that were held as part of the "SPROUTS: Russia and China - Mutually Beneficial Cooperation" international forum in Russia’s Kazan have been announced, a TASS correspondent reported.

Corporate team Megastroy won the race, while the team representing Avtokama Center took the silver and the squad from Russia’s Setevaya Kompaniya (Russia’s Grid Comp) secured the bronze.

Winners of the so-called "B" finals were also announced as they included the teams that finished from 7th to 12th places in preliminary rounds. First place went to the Korib company team, while second place was taken by Nefis Cosmetics. The ICL team rounded out the top three.

A total of 18 teams took part in the competition, including teams from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture of Tatarstan, Megastroy, Eidos, Khimgrad Technopolis and others. The event took place on Kaban Lake near the Galiaskar Kamal Tatar Academic Theatre.

"Eighteen teams applied to participate here… Our race, our little [so-called] Chinese Sabantuy [a Tatar traditional summer festival], allows us to learn about the culture of an ancient [Chinese] country, get a closer look at it and get in touch with it," Minister of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Tatarstan Oleg Korobchenko stated

"Huge number of spectators and participants were in attendance. There were 18 participating teams and more than 200 participants had arrived <…> The race was held within the framework of the SPROUTS International Forum," Korobchenko added.

Cao Longquan, who serves as the acting Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Kazan noted that Dragon Boat racing "goes back more than 2,000 years in China."

"They symbolize the spirit of unity, working side by side, overcoming difficulties together and moving forward with vigor," he said.

According to various Internet sources, a Dragon Boat is a human-powered watercraft that originated in the Pearl River Delta region of southern China's Guangdong Province some 2,000 years ago.

The fourth "SPROUTS: Russia and China - Mutually Beneficial Cooperation" international forum is being held in Kazan on August 16-19. The business program includes more than 50 business sessions. TASS is the event’s general information partner.