GRAND OPENING： Visitors peruse the exhibition hall of the 24th China Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair on June 15
　　People always associate northeast China’s Harbin， a city known as Eastern Moscow， with ice sculptures and down jackets. Indeed， it never fails to fascinate hordes of tourists， who stroll along historic Central Street with a frozen fudge pop.
　　But it doesn’t mean the winter city is deserted in summer. Far from it. From June 15 to 19， the 24th China Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair was held in the capital city of Heilongjiang Province. More than 12，600 businesspersons from 75 countries and regions and 100，000 Chinese visitors attended the fair.
　　During the five-day exhibition， roughly 30，000 products were put on display by 1，900 enterprises， with a substantial increase in companies from Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan.
　　Statistics released at the press conference on the closing day of the fair showed that 22 domestic trading delegations signed contracts worth $13.99 billion with 46 countries and regions. Of the deals， clothing， textiles， and equipment and machinery were the top three.
　　Moreover， China signed cooperative agreements regarding international talent exchange with 12 countries， including the United States， South Korea， Australia， Canada and Germany. Meanwhile， domestic companies also signed economic and technological cooperative projects worth 250.9 billion yuan （$40.95 billion）.
　　“Since the Harbin trade fair was first held in 1990， it has evolved into a national-level pageant and a significant platform for economic cooperation between the nations of Northeast Asia，” said Tan Yuhong， Director of the Information Office of the Heilongjiang Provincial Government.
　　From the art on the walls to the number of exhibitors， Russia’s presence was pervasive. More than 5，000 exhibitors from 74 states and regions in Russia took part， and import and export contracts between China and Russia were 79 percent of the total number.
　　“Enterprises from China and Russia should have a deep understanding of each other’s investment environment and development potential and complement each other in terms of geography， capital and technology，” said Wang Chao， Vice Minister of Commerce at the opening ceremony of Sino-Russian Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum on June 15.
　　 Business interaction
　　The high contract volume at the fair mirrors a prosperous economy in the northeastern province. In 2012， Heilongjiang’s GDP registered 1.37 trillion yuan （$223.6 billion）， with fixed assets investment hitting 978.1 billion yuan （$159.6 billion）， an increase of over 30 percent for three consecutive years. 　　Heilongjiang’s stunning growth has nabbed the attention of Russian business people. Liu Jiang， CEO of Tungus Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Co. Ltd.， which is located in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia， is a Chinese Russian. He started his company eight years ago with 5 million yuan （$820，000） as seed capital. This year， Liu hopes to attract more investment to expand workshops and reclaim farmland in Jewish Autonomous Oblast.
　　“The relatively small population and rich natural resources make it profitable to engage in animal husbandry in Russia. Negotiations are underway with two companies， one from Shanghai， and the other from Harbin，” said Liu.
　　Lower grain prices and higher returns on investments make Liu’s business attractive to Chinese investors. “The project will allow Chinese businessmen to tap into the huge market potential in Russia，” he added.
　　Chinese enterprises strained every nerve to attract investment. At the booth of Heilongjiang Aipu Lighting Electric Co. were green plants set with artificial light， drawing crowds amazed by the so-called micro-plant factory.
　　“Aipu is geared to serving residents in cold regions by manufacturing products adapted to low temperatures. The Harbin trade fair is a platform for us to tell investors what we can offer，”said an Aipu manager.
　　Considering cultural differences， Aipu hopes to partner with Russian businesses and take advantage of their local sales network. “They know better about their fellow countrymen and what kind of products local people need， which will help facilitate our exports，” said Liu.
　　Unlike years past， this year’s trade fair laid a focus on art products in hopes of facilitating and furthering business ties.
　　In the 3，000-square-meter exhibition hall， hundreds of oil paintings by prestigious Russian artists were displayed in exquisite wooden frames， all for sale， and there was even a forum on Russian oil paintings.
　　“Along with my oil paintings， I also traveled with many friends and colleagues to Harbin. I’d like to introduce them to Chinese art lovers and make close contacts with them，” said Sergei Gore， an academic from the Russian Academy of Sciences.
　　For Valery Alexandrovich， dean of the art school at Herzen University in St. Petersburg， art is a starting point for the two countries to build commercial ties. “The art show allows Russia and China to learn more about each other.”

　　RUSSIAN PRESENCE： Visitors check out the Russian Exhibition Area at the Harbin trade fair
　　 Trade ties
　　In the past two decades， trade between China and Russia has increased 14 fold， while China has ranked as Russia’s largest trading partner for two consecutive years.
　　At the fair’s Russian Business Day event on June 15， Wang noted that the booming ChinaRussian trade relationship would help realize an annual trade value of $100 billion.
　　Since it was established at the 2005 Harbin trade fair， the Russian Business Day has morphed into a platform to deepen ties between the two countries. As a major part of the fair， Russian Business Day has been upgraded from a provincial-level workgroup meeting to a ministerial bilateral forum on bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
　　The forum was themed “Opportunities for Russia-China Cooperation， Innovation and Development，” indicating a strong aspiration to expand all-round ties. People who were present at the fair exchanged views on Russian Far-East development planning and policies designed to spur investment.
　　“Enterprises from China and Russia should have a deep understanding of each other’s investment environment and development potential and complement each other in terms of geography， capital and technology，” said Wang at the forum on June 15.
　　“China is one of Russia’s important partners. Fruitful results have been yielded through interaction between the two，” said S.B. Ivanova， Russia’s State Secretary and Vice Minister of Regional Development.
　　Statistics show that China-Russia trade stood at $88.2 billion in 2012， up 11.2 percent from a year ago. Wang said booming trade between both sides were as a result of a number of strategic projects on energy， aviation and nuclear energy.
　　Valery V. Kuleshov， Director of the Institute of Economics at the Russian Academy of Sciences， said at the fair that the Russian Government is making enormous strides in building an energy base in the North Pole， and China should try to be a part of it.
　　Now， Russia’s oil and gas exploration wells have been built within 100 km from the Arctic Circle. Due to difficult weather conditions at the North Pole， the exploitation will be arduous and expensive. According to preliminary estimates， the exploitation of north Russia’s continental shelf would cost trillions of dollars.
　　“But it’ll all be worth it because cooperation on exploiting the North Pole would enhance China-Russia relations and benefit both sides，”said Kuleshov.
　　（Lu Bo also contributed to the story）