Introductory Presentation of the Federal District of Siberia and Eleventh Sympos

On May 22, the Introductory Presentation of the Federal District of Siberia and the Eleventh Symposium on China-Russia Regional Cooperation were held in Guangzhou. The Introductory Presentation of the Federal District of Siberia was one of the national programmes of the Russia Year in China, sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the CPAFFC and organized by the People’s Government of Guangdong Province. Present at the meeting were Chen Haosu, president of the CPAFFC and the China-Russia Friendship Association (CRFA), Tang Bingquan, executive deputy governor of Guangdong Province, Liu Shu, executive vice president of the CRFA, Ambassador Yao Peisheng representing the Foreign Ministry, officials from relevant departments and personages from the economic and trade circles of Guangdong, Hunan and Fujian Provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

D. Mezentsev, vice chairman of the Federation Council of Russia, Prostyakov, Russian presidential first deputy representative to the Siberian Federal District and Sarymov, deputy director of the Russian Centre for International Scientific and Cultural Cooperation of the Foreign Ministry, led their respective delegations to China to participate in the activity. Chairman of the Russian Federation Council S. Mironov sent a message of congratulations. Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Li Tieying met with the Federation Council delegation in Beijing. Huang Huahua, governor of Guangdong Province, met with and entertained the main members of the Russian delegations who came for the conferences.

At the opening ceremony, President Chen Haosu and Deputy Representative Prostyakov made theme speeches. Deputy Governor Tang Bingquan, Vice Chairman Mezentsev and Deputy Director Sarymov also spoke on the occasion. There were about 500 people present.

In his speech, Tang Bingquan briefed on the great achievements in the economic construction and social development of the province over the past 27 years since the opening-up, and the fruitful cooperation with Russia in recent years in the domains of economy and trade, culture, tourism, etc.. He said, the success of this meeting would play an important role in promoting the exchanges and cooperation between Guangdong, even all the provinces and regions of pan-Pearl River Delta and the Siberian Federal District.

In his speech, Mezentsev said that this activity would make important and substantial contributions to the success of the Russia Year announced by the leaders of both countries. He said he was glad to see that over 60 Russian federal bodies have participated in cooperation with China and the number was growing.

After his speech, Mezentsev wrote in Chinese that “a thousand-li journey starts with the first step”, which won warm applause from all present.

President Chen Haosu made a speech on the main theme entitled The Great Potentiality of Sino-Russian Regional Coooperation. At present, the Sino-Russian relations enjoy its best time in history. China and Russia have a traditional friendship. Up to now, we never forgot the precious assistance given by the Soviet Union to the People’s Republic of China in its early stage of industrialization. At the turning of century and facing the future, China and Russia have developed a good strategic partnership of cooperation. The programmes for the Russia Year in China and the China Year in Russia will highlight the good-neighbourly cooperation. The Introductory Presentation of the Federal District of Siberia and the Eleventh Symposium on China-Russia Regional Cooperation are big events of the regional economic and trade exchanges between the two countries. The fact that Vice Chairman Mezentsev of the Federation Council of Russia led a delegation to attend the events shows that the Russian high-ranking leaders attach great importance to the matter, and that Russian presidential first deputy representative to the Siberian Federal District Prostyakov led a delegation of local leaders and a large number of entrepreneurs with ample resources to these activities shows that the Federal District strongly and sincerely wishes to carry forward substantial economic and trade cooperation with China. It is of special significance that the events are held in Guangdong Province, one of the southern provinces that first carried out the policy of opening-up and its economy has developed the fastest.

In his speech, Prostyakov talked about the potentiality of the Siberian Federal District which is developing into Russia’s future base of materials and energy and the prospect of its cooperation with China. He said, the Federal District would take the opportunity of the Russia Year to strengthen and further the cooperation with various Chinese regions and enterprises.

After the general meeting, business representatives of both countries held group talks. In the evening, the Chinese side hosted a banquet welcoming the Russian participants. President Chen Haosu, Deputy Governor Tang Bingquan, Vice Chairman Mezentsev, Deputy Representative Prostyakov, some members of the Russian Federation Council Delegation, and former Russian ambassador to China Rogachev proposed toasts.