Chinese See Soviet Products at Exhibit
Hundreds of people flocked to Peking’s largest exhibition center Friday for a rare glimpse of Soviet goods at a show that Moscow hopes will bring closer ties with its once close ally.
The Soviet Industry and Commerce exhibition, first of its kind in China for 30 years, was formally opened by China’s Vice Premier Li Peng and Soviet Minister for Iron and Steel Serafim V. Kolpakov, who arrived in Peking on Thursday.
Li, who studied in the Soviet Union, was shown round more than 500 exhibits, watched a fashion show by models flown in from Moscow, and gave an interview in Russian and Chinese to a Soviet television crew.
“This exhibition will be very popular with the public,” a Chinese journalist said, clutching a thick wad of brochures from the stands. “We know little of what the Soviets make after all these years and are very curious.”
He was standing next to the centerpiece of the show, a display of Soviet space achievements featuring a model of a moon vehicle.
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