On the evening of June 6, the opening ceremony for the Russian Consulate General in Guangzhou was held.

The Consulate General will provide services for people of Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Hainan provinces. Visas services will begin 2-3 months later and 20,000 to 25,000 visas are expected to be issued per year. After renovation, on Shamian Island an office building where Russians worked once will become the home to the Consulate General. During the renovation period, temporary offices elsewhere will be used.

Exchanges have become increasingly frequent between Guangdong and Russia in the economic, cultural and tourism sectors. Last year, Guangdong - Russia bilateral import and export trade exceeded three billion U.S. dollars. From January to April 2007, the figure has increased by 33% to reach 1.1 billion U.S. dollars.

Editor: Yan