Opening ceremony of the 1st China International Import Expo

The Prime Minister addressed the opening ceremony and toured the expo.

Dmitry Medvedev’s remarks at the expo’s opening ceremony:

President Xi Jinping,

Distinguished heads of state and government,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Friends,

On behalf of Russia, I would like to welcome all those gathered here at the opening ceremony of the First China International Import Expo. This is a truly ambitious event that has brought together representatives of 130 countries who have come to Shanghai to demonstrate the capabilities of their economies and discuss the prospects of international trade – issues that must be discussed.

Today we face such common tasks as finding new sources of growth for the global economy and creating an open space for mutually beneficial cooperation, which must be pressure-free and sanctions-free and must leave no place for protectionism and restrictions. However, these are unfortunate realities of the present-day world and of the present-day economy, to which we cannot close our eyes. Trade must be based on the principles of free competition and free movement of goods and services. President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping has just eloquently stated this.

This is the approach of our country and of the People’s Republic of China, one of our key partners. We support our Chinese colleagues’ focus on long-term partnership and on establishing trade relations beneficial to all participants.

Over recent years, China has not only become the world’s factory but also a gigantic market for manufactured goods consumption, working in which is important for any country and any international company.

We are sincerely grateful to China for inviting Russia to take part in such an impressive forum as a partner country, an honourable status.

To be continued…