Made-in-Russia Goods Mall to open in Harbin

The Made-in-Russia Goods Mall opening on Thursday in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, has attracted over 80 Russian manufacturing enterprises.

The mall, in the Harbin Area of China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, is the Russian Export Center's sole authorized project in China to promote its "Made in Russia" brand.

The government-owned Russian Export Center offers financial and non-financial support to Russian exporters, assisting them in expanding into foreign markets and establishing a global trade network, Heilongjiang Daily reported.

With a building area of 1,200 square meters, the three-floor mall is divided into display areas for food, specialty products and cultural products.

"Russian manufacturing enterprises are showcasing more than 2,000 products across 10 categories including candies, beverages, alcohol, flour, fresh and frozen seafood, edible oils, jewelry and gemstones, spices, skincare products and handicrafts," said Peng Xiaofeng, secretary-general of the free trade zone's Sino-Russian Enterprise Alliance and general manager of the mall. "The sales volume is expected to exceed 500 million yuan ($69.2 million) this year.

"We have opened online sales channels on China's major e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, JD and Douyin. We have also been actively communicating with business associations from the Pearl River Delta region and the Yangtze River Delta region … inviting enterprises to visit the mall for on-site inspections, which provided real-time negotiations with Russian enterprises to promote cooperation.

"Additionally, the mall showcases a wide range of high-quality Chinese daily necessities, small appliances, clothing and footwear to assist Russian buyers in one-stop purchasing processes such as sampling, price negotiation, contract signing, fund settlement, customs clearance and logistics. Next step, we plan to establish large service trade data centers, Sino-Russian trade service platforms, Sino-Russian trade finance service platforms, and warehouses in Moscow and Vladivostok in Russia, as well as Harbin in China."

Data from the city government shows that Harbin's trade with Russia exceeded 11.7 billion yuan last year, up 78.8 percent year-on-year. Russia has been Harbin's largest trading partner for two consecutive years.

On April 1, the Dalian Cooperation Center of the Russian Export Center was established in the Dalian area of the Liaoning Pilot Free Trade Zone, which marked the first local cooperation center established by the Russian Export Center in China.

The Dalian Cooperation Center mainly engages in fostering business between Chinese and Russian enterprises.

There are more than 110 economic and trade enterprises doing business with Russia in the Dalian area of the Liaoning Pilot Free Trade Zone. Last year, their trade with Russia was worth about 12.6 billion yuan.