The annual China Harbin International Fair for Trade and Economic Cooperation (Harbin Fair) is becoming a grand platform for international companies intending to tap the Russian market.

An unprecedented number of more than 300 international companies, most of them giants in their respective fields, made their presence felt at this year's trade fair, which concluded last week.

A series of brands with worldwide fame, such as Wal-Mart, GE and Citibank, were seen seeking business opportunities at the fair, held in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Heilongjiang is China's northernmost province and shares a border with Russia that stretches more than 3,000 km.

The fair's unique features and location is helping it attract increasing numbers of businesspeople from different parts of the world.

Harbin Fair, launched in 1990, is designed to be a platform for Russian businesses as well as domestic and international companies that intend to explore the Russian and East European markets.

Besides benefiting from the increasing enthusiasm of Russian companies and its Far Eastern region government officials who want to attract investment from China, the fair is seeing greater participation from firms of other countries and regions as well.

In fact, Harbin Fair is now making its presence felt in South Asia, Europe, North America, and even Africa.

The number of participants from Europe, North America, Australia, Japan and the United Arab Emirates this year was up 20 percent compared with 2006.

Companies from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Mauritius attended the fair for the first time this year.

It is estimated that more than 10,000 overseas businesspersons from more than 80 countries and regions exhibited at or visited the fair this time.

Meanwhile, the 5th Harbin International Winter Sports Goods Exposition of China, the largest such event in Asia, will be held from August 30 to September 1 this year.

Heilongjiang Province is famed for its winter landscape, with bountiful ice and snow. It is home to 70 percent of the country's ski resorts and its ice and snow sculptures are world-renowned.