MOSCOW, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese delegation of more than 300 representatives from some 200 enterprises attended the Russian-Chinese forum on trade and economic cooperation that opened here on Tuesday.

    Jiang Yaoping, Deputy Chinese Commerce Minister, said at the opening ceremony that the trade and economic cooperation between China and Russia has maintained healthy development in recent years thanks to the efforts of the leaders and entrepreneurs from both sides.

    The two countries, which have huge market potentials, have expressed strong willingness to further cooperate on trade and economy amid the global financial crisis, Jiang said.

    The large delegation sent by China showed that it is taking concrete steps to promote bilateral economic cooperation and fight against protectionism under the current circumstances, he said.

    Russian Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Slepnyov said Russia and China are dedicated to develop the strategic partnership of cooperation. Although bilateral trade has been affected by the crisis, both sides have expanded their collaboration in the energy and high-tech sectors.

    In face of the global economic downturn, Russia and China should work together to confront the crisis, Slepnyov said.

    The Chinese delegation, which arrived here on Monday, is expected to sign deals worth more than 3 billion U.S. dollars in the fields of mechanics, light industry, high technology, energy and resource development, and projects contracting.