A business delegation, which was led by the Russian Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, paid a visit to the coastal city of Yantai in East China's Shandong province on April 7, which is expected to help deepen cooperation and trade ties between Yantai and Russia.

The Russian Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, one of the largest business associations in Russia, has established overseas representative offices in 26 countries across the globe.

This year is an important year for Yantai to boost its GDP past 1 trillion yuan ($145.17 billion). The city has broad prospects for cooperating with Russian companies, and plans to further deepen exchanges and cooperation with Russia in areas including industrial development, clean energy resources, the economy, trade, culture and international logistics to write a new chapter of mutual benefits, according to a Yantai official.

Yantai and Russia have a long history of economic and trade cooperation. The city has established friendly and cooperative relations with Vladivostok and Rostov-on-Don, and as of the end of 2022, a total of 800 Yantai enterprises established trade ties with Russia.

More than 300 of Yantai’s key enterprises from nine industrial chains, including automobile, biomedicine, clean energy resources, and aerospace, had matchmaking meetings and negotiations with the Russian economic and trade delegation.

In the future, Yantai plans to launch new air routes linking the city with Moscow, and open a number of international passenger charter flights and cargo routes.

Since the beginning of the year, Yantai has beefed up efforts to deepen cooperation with its global partners, and aims to expand its opening-up and explore the global market.

According to official data from the city's customs authorities, Yantai's total foreign trade reached 65.48 billion yuan in the first two months of the year, an increase of 9.7 percent year-on-year and hit a record high. Private enterprises have played an important role in boosting the city's foreign trade.

The Yantai-Russia Enterprise Cooperation and Exchange Meeting gets underway in the coastal city of Yantai in East China's Shandong province on April 7. [Photo/WeChat account: yantaifabu]