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The free trade zone market in Suifenhe, Heilongjiang province. SHAO GUOLIANG/FOR CHINA DAILY |
Every few days, Zhao Changqing goes to buy daily necessities imported from Russia in the free trade zone market in Suifenhe, Heilongjiang province.
"In the market, I have a lot of choices for high-quality and genuine Russian commodities, such as candy, chocolate, flour, pine nuts and frozen fish," says the 65-year-old retired civil servant. "Moreover, the price is definitely lower than in ordinary shops."
On Aug 9, 2011, Harbin Customs officially approved the establishment of a free trade market in Suifenhe to promote border trade in the city.
According to the policy, residents in Suifenhe can buy duty-free commodities with quotas of 8,000 yuan ($1,192) per day.
About 190 kilometers from Vladivostok, one of the largest cities in Russia's Far East, Suifenhe has 150,000 residents. It is the biggest Sino-Russian trade hub in Heilongjiang.
In 2019, per capita disposable income of urban residents in the city reached 39,600 yuan, ranking at the top of the province, according to local government.
In August 2019, the Heilongjiang Pilot Free Trade Zone, the northernmost FTZ in China, was officially established.
Suifenhe became one of the three areas in the zone, together with the cities of Harbin and Heihe.
To benefit more border residents and promote its border trade, Suifenhe encourages Russian businessmen in the free trade zone to cooperate with importers from neighboring countries.
By the end of 2019, the city had seen its free trade zone with Russia open to 14 more countries including Mongolia and the Republic of Korea, the city government said.
"We hope to see more high-quality and inexpensive commodities from different countries enter the Chinese market through the cross-border trade platform in Suifenhe, meeting the growing demand of consumers," says Bao Huixin, deputy director of the Suifenhe Free Trade Zone Administration.
"It will also play an important role in promoting the transformation and upgrading of the city's foreign trade industry," she says.
In the first eight months of 2020, over 72,000 metric tons of commodities were imported to the Suifenhe Free Trade Zone, a year-on-year growth of 155.62 percent. Import volume reached 343.9 million yuan, representing a growth of 2.6 percent over the same period in 2019, the local government said.
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The 15th Chinese Film Festival in Bangkok and the 2020 China-Thailand Film Exchange Week opens at the China Cultural Center in Bangkok on Oct 25, 2020. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
On Oct 25, the opening ceremony of the 15th Chinese Film Festival in Bangkok and the 2020 China-Thailand Film Exchange Week was held at the China Cultural Center in Bangkok. The event was hosted by the China Cultural Center in Bangkok and received strong support from the Chinese Embassy in Thailand and the Thai Ministry of Culture.
The COVID-19 pandemic doesn't impede the enthusiasm for cultural exchange between China and Thailand. This film festival uses live broadcast to present the opening ceremony and host the "China-Thailand Film Exchange and Cooperation Online Seminar". During the film festival, audiences can use the online platform of the China Cultural Center in Bangkok to watch films online, which greatly increases the global reach of the festival.
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Gu Hongxing, director of the China Cultural Center in Bangkok and China Tourism Office in Bangkok, speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
Gu Hongxing, director of Bangkok's China Cultural Center and China Tourism Office, said film can not only introduce one's national culture, but also reflect unique social landscapes. Film has become an important part of cultural exchange between countries and enhance mutual understanding among people around the world.
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Yang Xin, Chargé d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
Yang Xin, Chargé d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, said since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand 45 years ago, the mutual trust between the two countries has continued to deepen, economic and trade cooperation has expanded, cultural exchanges have become closer, and all-around cooperation has achieved fruitful results. Both China and Thailand have a vast film market. As a traditional project of cultural exchanges between China and Thailand, the Bangkok Chinese Film Festival has laid a solid foundation for film cooperation between the two countries for 15 years and will add new drive to the promotion of cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Thailand.
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Itthiphol Kunplome, Thailand's minister of culture, speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org] |
Thailand's Minister of Culture Itthiphol Kunplome said in his speech the governments and people of Thailand and China have been in constant exchange. Cooperation in various fields has developed steadily, and the film festival is another important event to further promote cultural exchanges between the two countries. The people of the two countries can promote their understanding of the cultures of both sides through films, and promote friendly relations and cooperation in other perspectives.
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