Little attention in the Western media has been focused on the important 10th Russia-China Exposition in the Chinese city of Harbin, May 17-21, which underlined the increasing collaboration between China and Russia in the area of economics and technology. Yet both President Xi and President Putin sent messages of congratulations to the Harbin event just prior to their important summit in Beijing.
Present at the event were high-level representatives of the business community from the US and Russia, including the Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Lin Ji and Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vladimir Ilyichev. On May 17, Vladimir Padalko, the vice president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, took part in the opening ceremony. Underlining the fact that innovation and investment cooperation are becoming the core of the global economic order, he pointed to increased cooperation between China and Russia in the areas of mechanical engineering, electronics, and energy.