Ｓｔ． Ｐｅｔｅｒｓｂｕｒｇ Ｇｏｖｅｒｎｍｅｎｔ ａｎｄ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

Invited by the CPAFFC， the Russian St. Petersburg government and business delegation headed by R. Krasavitsev， vice chairman of the Committee for External Affairs and Tourism of St Petersburg， paid a visit to China in mid-March. Chen Haosu， president of the CPAFFC and the China-Russia Friendship Association (CRFA)， and Luo Qin， secretary-general of the CPAFFC， met with and entertained the delegation. Leading officials concerned of the Ministry of Commerce and leaders of the relevant enterprises had talks with the delegation.

At the meeting with the delegation， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu said， with the concerted efforts made by the governments and people of the two countries， Sino-Russian friendly relations and cooperation in various fields have developed smoothly and achieved many positive results. St. Petersburg is a beautiful city admired by the Chinese people. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. Sixty years ago， the people of St. Petersburg made great contributions to defending the motherland and the victory of the Anti-Fascist War. We are very happy to see that you not only defended the city with your blood， but also built this beautiful city with your sweat. Now， both countries take economic development as an important task. At the Meeting of the National People’s Congress recently convened， the Chinese Government laid down a great plan for development， and particularly set the goal of establishing a socialist harmonious society. To establish a harmonious society needs a harmonious international environment that is to be created by our joint efforts. We welcome more Russian friends to visit China to enhance understanding and friendship. The CPAFFC and the CRFA are willing to make efforts for the development of Sino-Russian friendly relations and cooperation between the enterprises of the two countries.

Delegation leader R. Krasavitsev said， the St. Petersburg municipal government is willing to contribute to the promotion of cooperation in various fields between the two countries. Not long ago， the governments of the two countries decided to hold the “Year of Chinese Culture” and the “Year of Russian Culture” in each other’s country in 2006 and 2007. The purpose of our delegation’s visit is to make preparations for the activities. During the China-Russia cultural year， the Russian side plans to show some films about Russia-China friendship and the Russian and Chinese people’s daily life. At present， with the assistance of the CPAFFC， the Russian side is discussing with some Chinese film studios about cooperation in producing these films. Our delegation is composed of famous Russian entrepreneurs whose aim of visiting China is to strengthen economic and trade relations with the Chinese local governments and enterprises， and seek partners of cooperation. We very much appreciate the CPAFFC’s meticulous arrangement which has enabled us to have contact with the leading officials of the ministries concerned， local governments and enterprises.

At the China-Russia Economic and Trade Talks organized by the Ministry of Commerce， Sun Yongfu， director general of the Department of European Affairs， briefed about the current Sino-Russian economic and trade relations as well as the policies and current situation of the export and import of China’s ships， cars and textiles. Sun said， recent years saw a continuous development of China-Russia economic and trade relations following the growing China-Russia good-neighbourly relations. Last year the two countries jointly drafted a plan for implementation of the Sino-Russian Good-Neighbourly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and set the goal that bilateral trade volume should exceed 20 billion US dollars in 2004 and reach 60 to 80 billion US dollars by the year 2010. To realize this goal requires double efforts by various circles， particularly the business circle of the two countries. Sun said， the Ministry of Commerce has set up an office for regular annual meeting between the premiers of the two countries， under which there are 8 committees. The complementary bilateral economic relations have broad prospects of development. St. Petersburg has many projects for cooperation with China. We are most willing to promote economic and trade relations between St. Petersburg and relevant Chinese provinces and cities.

The representatives of the Chinese enterprises present at the talks briefed about their enterprises， and expressed their willingness to further discuss with the Russian side about cooperation.

The delegation also visited Hebei， Henan， Shangdong and Liaoning Provinces， and the Haier Group Company， and automobile and ship-building factories in Zhengzhou， Qingdao and Dalian where they were warmly received.