The 17th international China Harbin Fair for Trade and Economic Cooperation will be held from June 15 to 19 in Harbin, the capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Wang Limin, vice governor of Heilongjiang Province, told a press conference on Friday that apart from seeking cooperation with Russia and the East European countries, the province will make new efforts to seek business opportunities from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.

The fair, which will include 2,000 stands covering 76,000 square meters, he noted, is expected to stage such activities as "Business Week of Russia", "Business Week of Japan", "Business Day of Korea", "Business Day of Hong Kong" and "Economic and Trade Exchange Day across Taiwan Straits".

Forums on China-Russia regional cooperation and development and a China-Russia leaders' forum for cooperation in the field of investment, energy and forestry will also be held during the five-day trade fair.

"'Business Week of Russia' and other activities related to Russia have all been included among the major activities of '2006 China-Russia Year'," said Wang Limin. " Participants from Russia will soar 50 percent compared to the year before last."

The fair, held on an annual basis since 1990, has attracted about 1.2 million business people from over 80 countries and seen around 80 billion US dollar in transaction value.

Wang Limin said the trade fair had become China's largest trade fair for Russia and Northeast Asia, and had contributed a lot to the revitalization of northeast China's industrial base.

The 17th trade fair will be sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the Heilongjiang provincial government, the Zhejiang provincial government and the Harbin municipal government.