The China Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair, predecessor of the ongoing China-Russia Expo, was launched in 1990. The fair was organized by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Heilongjiang provincial government, the Zhejiang provincial government and the Harbin city government. More than 10 foreign government departments, including the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, also sponsored the fair.

The annual fair was held from June 15 to 19 in Harbin. Over the past 24 years, it attracted nearly 1.8 million visitors from more than 80 countries and regions and witnessed a total of $100 billion in deals. In October 2013, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Heilongjiang provincial government signed an agreement to change the name of the fair to the China-Russia Expo.

Themed "New Opportunities, New Platform", the newly named expo was held from June 30 to July 4 last year with more than 280,000 visitors. A total of 11,000 businesspeople from 67 countries and regions, including nearly 5,000 from Russia, attended the event. Contracts worth $3.15 billion were signed at the event. The third expo will be held in Russia.

(China Daily 10/15/2015 page7)