The Chinese national exhibition in Moscow will greatly promote economic cooperation between the two countries, a top Chinese trade official said in Beijing Monday.

"The Chinese national exhibition not only displays the achievements of China's opening-up policy and Chinese products, but is also a platform for China and Russia to jointly create a bright future," Yu Guangzhou, vice minister of commerce and director of the commercial aspect of the Year of China in Russia, told Xinhua.

Yu said most of the Chinese provinces took part in this exhibition scheduled for March 26-29, and during which 24 special programs will be held. It will be the biggest exhibition China has held overseas in almost three decades.

Some 200 enterprises and organizations from around China, including the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, will attend the exhibition, with more than 15,000 kinds of products on show.

China and Russia are expected to sign 21 agreements and contracts worth more than 4.3 billion U.S. dollars during the exhibition, Yu said.

"The meaning of the exhibition lies not only in the sum of money -- 4.3 billion dollars, but also in its far-reaching influence in the future," Yu said.

Economic ties between China and Russia have seen remarkable progress in recent years. According to Yu, the volume of Sino-Russia bilateral trade reached the first 10 billion dollars in 10 years, the second in three years, and the third in just a year and a half.

Double-digit growth has been registered in two-way trade for eight years in a row since 1999. Trade volume hit a record 33.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2006, up 15 percent from the previous year, according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry figures.

"So, our trade is increasing to a larger scale. Cooperation in investment, labor, projects, border trade is also increasing. Generally speaking, we have a broad future in our economic development," Yu said.

The two countries have decided to raise the volume of bilateral trade to 60-80 billion dollars by 2010, and the investment of China in Russia to 12 billion dollars by 2020.

"Through hard work on both sides we are confident of achieving this goal, although it is rather high at present," Yu said.

After the opening ceremony of the Year of China in Russia, attended by visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday night, the ceremony of the Chinese national exhibition will be held on Tuesday, also with the leaders' attendance.

Source: Xinhua