Over the past decade, trade between the two sides had remained stagnant.

    But last year, Harbin's annual import and export trade volume with Russia hit US$103 million, breaking the US$100 million barrier for the first time since the mid-1990s.

    However, compared with the province's yearly foreign trade volume of US$3.82 billion, the increase merely showed the massive potential of this northern city.

    Concrete strategic steps

    From this year, Harbin, capital of North China's Heilongjiang Province, has committed itself to stepping up Harbin-Russia trade, promoting their economic and trade co-operation and broadening its international market.

    The first step the city will take is to build more industrial bases.

    In the Xinxiangfang area of Harbin's Xiangfang District, an export processing zone will be established, which will target the Russian market and be divided into five functional areas, focusing on agricultural and side-line products, textile products, electronic products, mechaelectric product processing and stock management.

    The noted Harbin Economic Development Zone will also be built into a similar export base, mainly to do business with Russia.

    With the preferential policies enjoyed by the development zone, the base is expected to attract more enterprises while enlarge its foreign business scope.

    And the Harbin-based Northeast Asia Commercial and Sci-tech Co-operation Zone, Heilongjiang Binxi International Trade Processing Zone and some other zones will also be constructed along the same lines, said sources with the local government.

    The second strategic move is to facilitate the construction of an economic corridor with Russia. The Harbin-Vladivostok international trade "green lane" will be further developed, with Russia's Krasnoyarsk, Habarovsk, Ekaterinburg and Vladivostok as the target markets.

    To establish Harbin as a centre of Sino-Russia trade, the municipal government will spare no efforts optimizing its export structure.

    In the next three years, Harbin will strive to become an important production and processing base for exports to Russia, with a target of taking the city's trade volume with Russia to above US$1 billion by 2010.

    Another significant measure the city will adopt is the implementation of brand strategy by encouraging local enterprises and backbone products to capitalize on the Russian market.

    With preferential policies and instant information in place, Harbin will help cultivate its leading corporations.

    They will be encouraged to expand exports of textiles, light industrial products, and agricultural and side-line products, as well as mechaelectrical products, such as home appliances, telecommunication products and automobile components.

    At the same time, the promotion of imports has also been listed on Harbin's development agenda.

    The import focus ranges from chemical to forestry products.

    Agricultural co-operation

    Harbin Agricultural Committee sources said the city exported a large amount of agricultural products to Russia every year, including around 3,000 tons of vegetables, 20,000 live pigs, 1,500 tons of eggs, 500 tons of frozen chicken, and 500 tons of fodder.

    To keep up regular exports to Russia, a raft of vegetable export bases have been set up in the city's suburbs.

    The Harbin Academy of Agricultural Sciences has teamed up with Russia's St Petersburg State Agrarian University to introduce new vegetable varieties.

    Given Russia's dwindling population, Harbin has given priority to contracted construction and labour co-operation.

    With 2,000 local farmers engaged in planting vegetables and fruit trees as well as timber business in Russia last year, more and more players are expected to cash in on the lucrative market.

    In addition, with a focus on high added value production, Harbin's agricultural co-operation with Russia is on a fast track.

    To meet the Russia's market demand, an agricultural and side-line production base will soon take shape.

    And taking advantage of Russia's good ecological environment and potherb and marine product resources, Harbin has co-developed green rice, green soybean and other refined agricultural and side-line products with Russian partners.