As Svetlana Mironyuk put it, despite the growth in trade and economic relations between the two countries, "there is still an 'information vacuum' in China as far as economic news from Russia is concerned."
She also said: "In China there is little understanding of the real economic situation in Russia, of the economic and financial laws, as well as of the changes in them."
"There is a demand for such information in China, and we only have to supply it," she said, adding "that is why the economic newswire is the first product we have brought to the local market," Mironyuk added.
In accordance with local laws, the agency signed its first agreement with Xinhua's authorized agent - China Economic Information Service - on April 10, 2008 and can now work directly with clients in China.
Mironyuk said RIA Novosti would focus on developing its presence in China. She also said that the agency had intensified its activities in the country over the recent years. In March 2006, it opened a Russian Information Center in Beijing. The official ceremony was attended by President Vladimir Putin. Also in 2006, RIA Novosti became the first and so far the only Russia-based Internet-medium providing information in Chinese.
"Today we have reached a new level - direct sales. And this is only the beginning for us," Mironyuk concluded.
