A performer dances at the booth of Russia at the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 8, 2018. (Xinhua/Han Yuqing)

MOSCOW, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Russia companies signed a string of contracts and agreements in various fields with their Chinese partners at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), which further strengthens business ties between Russia and China, a Russian expert said.

"We believe that the results of the participation are positive...Russian companies and their products were in great demand, as colleagues say. This is an undoubted success," Andrei Slepnyov, director general of the Russian Export Center (REC), said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The CIIE, held in Shanghai on Nov.5-10, is the first of its kind, which attracted over 2,800 companies from 130 countries and regions.

Slepnyov said a total of more than 100 Russian companies took part in the CIIE, as well as in the parallel business missions.

Important agreements and contracts were sealed in fields of food supplies, high-tech products, medical supplies and equipment, cosmetics and health products, as well as jewelry, including the purchase of Russian agro-industrial products worth about 500 million U.S. dollars by China's Sichuan, Hubei and Gansu provinces, according to Slepnyov.

"I should note that the importance of these agreements lies primarily in the fact that they will allow to create a trade infrastructure for the promotion of Russian exports in these provinces," Slepnyov said.

The REC also held a number of working meetings with Chinese partners on expanding e-commerce, interregional and interbank cooperation.

At the CIIE, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group announced its plan to bring 200 billion dollars worth of products from over 120 countries and regions into China in the next five years.

"As a national export development institute, the REC is ready to become a strategic partner in the implementation of the import project of Alibaba Group in Russia," Slepnyov said.

An REC office will start operating in Shanghai by the end of this year, he added.

"Our task is to create on the territory of the People's Republic of China a full-fledged integrated system for ensuring Russian-Chinese trade," he said.

Speaking of the CIIE on the whole, Slepnyov said it showed China's determination to continue the policy of opening its market to foreign goods and capital, which contributes to "free trade and equal access to markets in the competitive struggle."

Such a large-scale event once again demonstrates China's focus on mutually beneficial cooperation with foreign partners and the REC is ready to support such initiatives in the future, he said.