Taiwan's willingness to play a major role in the latest China Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair has been seen as a clear signal of its intention to build stronger economic links with both the Chinese mainland and Russia.

This year marked the first time that Taiwanese businesses had attended the annual Harbin event. As well as exhibiting at the fair, a number of Taiwanese delegates also took part in the pre-fair Heilongjiang-Taiwan-Far East Russian Economic Trade and Cooperation Day, an event jointly organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Heilongjiang provincial government and the Harbin municipal government.

One of the many subsidiary events that have evolved around the trade fair proper, the Cooperation Day focused on "enlarging regional multi-lateral cooperation and expanding economic and trade areas. More than 300 delegates from Russia and Taiwan attended the event, which saw a large number of investment projects brought to the discussion table and a number of co-operative ventures agreed.

The Taiwanese delegation, led by Dai Liangchuan, director of the Taipei Chamber of Commerce, booked more than 100 exhibition booths at the trade fair in a bid to promote the island's investment environment. According to Dai, Taiwanese experts were particularly keen to highlight their expertise in building materials, logistics and modern services sectors.

Speaking prior to the official opening of the trade fair, Dai said: "Taiwanese businesses are now highly competitive within the international market. We are now aiming to find appropriate investment opportunities both on the Chinese mainland and in untapped foreign markets. Both Heilongjiang and Russia, in light of their rich natural resources, represent ideal investment opportunities for us.

"At present, businesses in Taiwan know little about the investment opportunities in Russia. We have come here, at least partly, to learn from our Heilongjiang counterparts just how we should approach doing business with Moscow."

With Russia as its northern neighbor, Heilongjiang has long been one of the most important conduits for trade between China and eastern Europe. At present, the province has 15 crossing points with Russia, with some 20 percent of the total trade between the two countries passing through its borders.

This geographical proximity has led to growing economic trade and cooperation between Russia and Heilongjiang. This has resulted in a number of joint venture projects, including last year's inauguration of the Sino-Russian pipeline project. In October of this year, work is also set to begin on the Tongjiang Bridge, the first railway link between Russia and China to span the Heilongjiang River.

As well as its burgeoning links with Russia, Heilongjiang has enjoyed a distinct upswing in its trade ties with Taiwan over recent years. In light of this, the northeastern province has been designated as one of the experimental zones for cross-Straits agricultural cooperation.

Taiwanese investment in Heilongjiang currently focuses on the food processing, building materials, electronic equipment manufacturing, wood processing and real estate development sectors and sees more than 100,000 people from Taiwan visit Heilongjiang every year. The growing importance of these links is soon to be marked by the imminent introduction of direct flights between Harbin and Taipei.

Commenting on the province's growing role as a broker for international trade opportunities. Ma Xingli, director of the Heilongjiang branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said: "The long history of economic and trade cooperation between Heilongjiang and Russia will inevitably help Taiwanese businesses successfully access Russian markets."