Expanded exhibition scale, cooperation with neighboring countries, revitalization of traditional industrial bases in Northeast China and other economic and cultural activities will be the highlights of this year's 18th China Harbin Fair for Trade and Economic Cooperation (Harbin Fair).

The fair, being held from today until June 19 at the Harbin International Conference, Exhibition and Sports Center in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, is drawing intense attention from visitors, and domestic and overseas exhibitors.

Organizing committee sources said the fair covers an area of 76,000 sq m and features 2,000 international exhibition booths.

In terms of exhibition scale, some professional pavilions will be set up to cover sectors such as organic food, the hi-tech industry, machinery and electricity, furniture and building materials, and pharmaceuticals sectors, as well as the chemical, light, textile, garment and culture industries.

There will also be pavilions for foreign countries and China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and Taiwan Province.

Jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, the State Council's office for the revitalization of Northeast China and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the governments of Heilongjiang Province and East China's Zhejiang Province and Harbin, this year's fair will be a more internationalized event.

Internationalized event

A total of 12 international governmental and business organizations from seven countries and regions, including Russia, Japan, the United Nations Industry Development Organization and the United Nations Development and Planning Organization, as well as the Hong Kong SAR government, are also jointly organizing the fair, helping it gain increased global attention.

Further, there will be many World Top 500 multinational corporations, professional purchasers and top domestic and overseas enterprises attending the event.

About 11,000 overseas business representatives from 80 countries and regions and 110,000 domestic representatives are expected to participate in the fair.

Such a strong presence of foreign entities shows how Harbin Fair has been upgraded from a national event to an international expo, which will further intensify its influence both at home and abroad, making coordination among related organizations much smoother and more powerful, the organizing committee said.

As the Harbin Fair adheres to the principle of viewing Russia, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) nations and East European countries as its main partners, this year's event will help to further promote business and trade ties with them.

Furthermore, fair organizers have also paid attention to inviting businesses from Japan, the Republic of Korea and Mongolia, as well as from countries in Southeast Asia, the European Union, North America and Oceania.

Special activities

Harbin Fair will see the launch of some key economic activities, including the Korean Business Day, Hong Kong Business Day, and the Japanese Business Week.

As the Year of China in Russia this year is seen as an unprecedented opportunity for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, the 18th Harbin Fair has been listed as an important event by both countries.

Sino-Russian bilateral trade volume was worth $6.69 billion last year, an increase of 17.8 per cent from the previous year.

The exhibition area for Russian machinery, and electrical and hi-tech products will be further enlarged. The "Russian Business Week," one of the main commercial activities, will be held again during the fair with even more participants.

Echoing the nation's strategy of revitalizing the traditional industrial bases in Northeast China, the fair will also hold a special exhibition displaying cooperation projects in this field.

Projects related to revitalizing traditional industrial bases cover equity reform of State-owned enterprises in Northeast China and the development of the Harbin-Daqing-Qiqihar Industrial Corridor.

Meanwhile, a series of international business activities, forums and seminars, as well as cultural and sports exchange activities are to be launched during the fair.

These activities include various exhibitions, business discussions, contract-signing ceremonies, and evening art shows. A number of diverse cultural programs will also be held in the major squares of the city of Harbin.

(China Daily 06/15/2007 page4)