SARS does not affect Russian-Chinese trade?

"The SARS factor that they talk so much about around here had no serious impact on the rise in Russian-Chinese goods turnover," Sergei Tsyplakov, Russia's trade representative to China, announced in Beijing.

According to his account, the figures of the first four months of 2003 indicate a rise in bilateral trade. Having grown by 30% in the period between January and April, it kept growing throughout the month of April and was 20% higher than the figures of April 2002, Tsyplakov reported.

At the same time, he said, the SARS situation in China was affecting the shuttle business. "This wasn't because they say the virus spreads through objects," he noted. "It's just that the flow of Beijing-bound travellers has diminished." "As far as Russian export is concerned, I must say I cannot imagine any type of goods that could spread the virus," Tsyplakov added.