Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi delivers a speech at a laying-foundation ceremony of a Chinese Trade Center in Moscow on June 12, 2007. [Photo: Xinhua]

A Chinese Trade Center has laid its first stone in the Russian capital of Moscow.

Chinese vice Premier Wu Yi and her Russian counterpart Alexander Zhukov attended the laying-foundation ceremony on Tuesday, expecting that the center will further promote business cooperation between the two countries.

CRI reporter Xu Weiyi has the story.

The Chinese Trade Center consists of office buildings, hotels, exhibition centers, malls and traditional Chinese gardens. It is the largest ever project of business cooperation between China and Russia.

Addressing the ceremony, Chinese vice Premier Wu Yi says the project has become a good example of win-win business cooperation.

She says it's a decision by the premiers of both countries to establish the Chinese Trade Center in Moscow. It's also the requirement of the fast growing bilateral trade relations. After the construction is over, the center will provide high-level and all-round services for Chinese and Russian business people.

She hopes the trade center will promote the China-Russia trade relations to a higher level.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov says the center is a landmark event, as it will become a floor for communication between businessmen of the two nations.

"The two governments have been supervising this project for several years. As we know, China is planning to increase its investment in Russia to 12 billion US dollars. The Chinese Trade Center will play an important role in promoting economic development in both countries and investment cooperation."

The trade center is expected to be put into use in 2010.

Xu Weiyi, CRI news.