.22nd Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair opens in China.

HARBIN, Heilungjiang Province, China, June 15 (Itar-Tass) -- The 22nd
Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair opens here on Wednesday with
a Day of Russian Business.
For the first time, Russia is represented by a single exposition
featuring 11 regions. Traditionally, the Day of Russian Business is a
major part of the fair and is aimed to present the investment potential of
Russian regions to encourage closer cooperation with China.
Russia will exhibit products of its leading companies actives in the
areas of machine-building, light and food industries, mining, as well as
projects in the energy sector, agriculture, housing construction, etc.
On Tuesday, addressing a conference on cooperation of border regions
of the Russian Far East and East Siberia with northeastern China, Russian
Minister of Regional Development Viktor Basargin said that in the past
year the sides managed to achieve considerable success in the
implementation of program of cooperation between these regions for the
period of 2009-2018. Thus, he said, the sides have established a mechanism
of cooperation between Russia's ministry of regional development and China'
s state committee for reforms and development, the two bodies responsible
for the implementation of the above program.
According to the Russian minister, one of the most efficient tools to
attract Chinese investors to Russia are special economic zones. There are
four such zones in Russia's Far East and East Siberia, in the republic of
Buryatia, in the Irkutsk region, and in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky
territories.
"I am sure that if Chinese investors opt to place their enterprises in
these zones, they will be satisfied with the payback on their
investments," he said.
A total of 11,000 exhibitors from 72 countries, including Russia,
Japan, South Korea, France, Brazil, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates,
Latvia, and Albania, took part in the pervious fair in Harbin in 2010.
There were more than 4,000 exhibitors from Russia only.
Held since 1990, the Harbin Fair is one of the largest international
fairs in China authorized by China government.