A week-long international commerce and trade exhibition was inaugurated here on Wednesday to highlight the products from some 150 native and foreign exhibitors, as part of the celebration of the 600th anniversary of Chinese Ming Dynasty navigator Zheng He's voyages to Asia and Africa.

During his stay here, Zheng He managed to promote trade and cultural exchange and help the Chinese and the Indonesians enhance their mutual understanding, said Indonesian Commerce Minister Feng Huilan in a keynote speech delivered before she walked through the 225 exhibition stands at the Central Java Trade and Promotion Center (PRPP).

While celebrating for Zheng He's voyages and merit, we should also "learn from his adventurous persistence to overcome difficulty and pursue truth," said the minister before the PRPP, which accommodated almost 1,000 visitors in the opening day to look through products from China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia as well as 32 Indonesian provinces.

In addition, Chairman of the Anniversary Organizing Committee Li Botu said at the inauguration ceremony that the commemoration of Zheng He was expected to promote trade, economic and cultural exchange among all the concerned parties in accordance with the navigator's ideal for peaceful co-existence between different nationalities and religions.

In this sense, the exhibition could help us "share both historical and realistic reflections," he added.

The PRPP mobilized all its three major halls for the exhibition, which added commercial color to the anniversary based on cultural and religious activities.

Zheng He once navigated the west Pacific and Indian Ocean for seven times. He and his fleet stopped at Semarang for three times, leaving several historical sites for the capital city.

Semarang is renowned in Indonesia as a tourist destination and for its marine products, port facility as well as the 200,000 Indonesian Chinese residents who conduct regular commercial exchange with their counterparts in China.

Source: Xinhua