Two-way trade between Jilin Province in northeast China and Russia has soared over the last four years and will continue to expand in the years to come, the province's deputy governor said Tuesday.

Jiao Zhengzhong said at a trade fair that Jilin's trade with Russia had been growing at an average rate of 90 percent for four years, but the growth rate in the past seven months had leaped to 208 percent.

Statistics provided by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce show Jilin conducted 440 million U.S. dollars worth of foreign trade with Russia last year, a rise of 145 percent from a year ago, and bilateral trade between Jilin and Russia stood at 290 million US dollars in the first seven months of the year, up 208 percent.

"We have held a host of economic and trade events in many Russian cities in the past few years and organized the "Russian Business Week" at the ongoing 3rd China Northeast Asia Investment and Trade Exposition, with the aim of making Jilin a bridge between Russia and the rest of the world," Jiao said.

Jilin is a well-known base for the development of sectors such as the automotive industry and traditional Chinese medicine. It borders Russia and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), with the borderline extending 1,438.7 km, of which the Sino-Russia section is 232.7 km long.

According to Jiao, Russia has become the number one destination for Jilin to make investments overseas and the second biggest market for Jilin's labor exports.

Nationwide, trade between China and Russia is expected to surpass 40 billion U.S. dollars this year, after it reached a record high of 33.4 billion dollars last year, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo said on Sunday.

China-Russia trade reached 25 billion dollars in the first seven months, according to Wei.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2007)