Women from China and Russia gathered in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Tuesday to take part in a four-day event designed to promote exchanges and friendship between the two cultures.

 

A 17-strong Russian delegation and women representatives from Harbin attended yesterday's opening ceremony of the event, held at the Harbin Friendship Center.

 

Dubbed 'Oriental Moscow', Harbin has a long history in cultural exchanges with Russia and, as a city that is close to Russia geographically, Harbin boasts many advantages in conducting exchanges with Russia.

 

Women from the two countries will attend a China-Russia 'women forum', discussing women's role in economic development, social progress and economic cooperation. They will also visit Harbin's training center for women, a children's center, a kindergarten and an urban construction site in the city. Chinese and Russian women entrepreneurs will exchange their experiences in running successful businesses.

 

These activities are expected to enhance the friendship and understanding between women of the two countries, which in turn will contribute to relations between China and Russia, organizers of the event said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2006)