The "Year of China in Russia" has been widely hailed since it
opened in Moscow Tuesday and has drawn attention not only in Russia
but across the world.
The theme year, brought under the international media spotlight
as a result of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit, continued in
earnest Tuesday with the staging of the Chinese National Exhibition
-- the biggest comprehensive show China has held abroad in almost
three decades.
The theme year is the reciprocal event of 2006's "Year of Russia
in China."
"The Chinese National Exhibition shows that it (China) has now
recorded a much faster economic growth than the United States,"
said former Prime Minister Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov.
Contracts worth US$4.3 billion were inked by Chinese and Russian
enterprises after the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
The show, one of about 200 events to be held this year to mark
the "Year of China" in Russia, occupies a huge hall with more than
20,000 square meters of floor space and showcases some 15,000
products from 30 industries such as energy, machinery, automobile
and home appliances.
Gennady Zyuganov, chief of the Russian Communist Party, was
deeply impressed by the exhibition, saying Russia should learn from
China's rapid development.
"We should learn from China's development experience and turn
our eyes away from the pattern of the West, including the United
States," said Zyuganov.
Russian TV stations, newspapers and websites broadcasted live or
made the opening ceremony of the theme year and the exhibition
their lead stories, and highlighted China's achievements in
aviation, ship-building, information technology and other
sectors.
The Commersant and Rossiskaya Gazeta, two key
newspapers in the country, published special issues for the theme
year, introducing to their readers an overall view of China,
covering various aspects such as politics, foreign policy, economy
and trade, history and culture.
The Moscow Times, which also paid much attention to the
event, said agreements signed during Hu's visit enhanced closer
economic cooperation between the two countries.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said the theme year "will
be accompanied by interesting, unique and informative events for
the Russians."
The theme year's more than 200 festivities include a cultural
festival, an exhibition of fine porcelain and another of treasure
from the Forbidden City, as well as acrobatics performances, ballet
and Shaolin Kung fu.
(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2007)
