Russia's northwestern region of Vologda held an economic and
cultural promotion conference in Beijing on Monday, the first of a
series of regional promotion conferences to celebrate the "Year of
Russia" in China.
Addressing the conference, Vjacheslav Pozgalov, the governor of
Vologda, said he and his party not only bring to China
Spring Festival greetings and traditional arts, but also
economic projects covering areas including metallurgy, forestry,
and finance.
He said Vologda has conducted cooperation in metallurgy,
chemical industry and agriculture in China and hoped that
cooperation would be enhanced.
At the conference, representatives from northeast China's Jilin
Province and Vologda signed an agreement on developing regional
cooperation ties.
Russian Ambassador to China Sergey Razov said the celebration of
the "Year of Russia" in China in 2006 and the "Year of China" in
Russia in 2007 is highly conducive to improving mutual
understanding between the two nations.
A formal opening ceremony of the "Year of Russia" will be held
during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China in March,
he added.
Regional and local exchanges, as the pivotal parts of the
China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination, will push
forward the partnership, Razov said, adding that some 60 pairs of
cities or provinces in Russia and China have forged friendly
ties.
Located in the northwest part of Russia, Vologda covers an area
of 145,700 square kilometers. It has a population of 1.25
million.
According to statistics provided by the Russian Embassy in
Beijing, export volumes from Vologda to China in 2005 were 14 times
that in 2000, while import volumes were double.
(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2006)