Cherkizovsky Market closure heralds transformation of Sino-Russian nongovernmental trade

MOSCOW, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia have reached broad consensus on the proper handling of the sudden closure of the Cherkizovsky Market through friendly negotiations, said Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng here Saturday.

Migrant workers stored mannequins after the authorities shut down  the Cherkizovsky outdoor market on the outskirts of Moscow.

Gao, who arrived here Wednesday, heads a Chinese delegation for talks on the impact of the June 29 closing of the market, where tens of thousands of Chinese vendors had been operating.

Local analysts said the shutdown has marked an inevitable transformation of the nongovernmental trade between China and Russia and necessitated a change in mindset and operation mode among Chinese businessmen in Russia.

REASONS BEHIND THE ABRUPT SHUTDOWN

Cherkizovsky is Russia's biggest wholesale market. Police abruptly shut down the nearly 300-hectare market in northeastern Moscow on June 29 after disclosure by. Russian Federal Supervision Service for Consumer Rights Protection and People Welfare of various illegal and irregular operation in the markets Russian Prosecutor General's Office said the shutdown was due to bad sanitary and fire control conditions, but local media believe many factors have prompted the closure.

A June report tendered by Minister of Industry and Trade Victor Khristenko stated that contraband goods not only cost the government great loss in taxation, but also undermine the development of the country's light industry.