The 2nd China-Russia Expo, themed "Silk Road Economic Zone: New Opportunities for Cooperation", is significant for the two countries to seek strategic cooperation, the Chinese side secretary general of the organizing committee, E Zhongqi said in an exclusive interview with Xinhuanet lately.

The bilateral strategic cooperation will have significant impact and bring about new chances and set up new platforms, said E Zhongqi, who is also the chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Heilongjiang provincial council.

China-Russia Expo, previous known as "Ha Qia Hui" in Chinese, is an annual bilateral trade fair held in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province for the past 26 years.

Last year, it became a national-level expo and one of the major regional platform to promote the "Belt and Road" initiative.

The 2nd China-Russia Expo will be held Oct 12-16 in Heilongjiang province. As the host, the province gears up to upgrade the expo in terms of function and service, E Zhongqi said.

According to him, the exhibition area of the expo is to be 86,000 square meters. By far, 75 percent of booths have been booked.

The set-up and preparatory work for the Hall of Russia is undergoing smoothly, he added.