BIJING - Indonesia is promoting its economic, trade and tourism potentials in six Chinese provinces by taking part in a three-day Expo Central China 2007 opened on Thursday (April 26) in Zhengzhou, Henan province, an Indonesian official here said.

"Indonesia's participation in the exhibition is a strategic step as thereby it is promoting its potentials in six Chinese provinces through only one exhibition," Andriana Supandy, head of the economic section at the Indonesian embassy in Beijing, said here Thursday.

The six Chinese provinces were Anhui, Henan, Hunan, Hebei, Hubei and Jiangxi.

Andriana said the exhibition, which was opened by Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Wu Yi attended by hundreds of participants from 40 countries.

Indonesian Ambassador to China Sudradjat was expected to give a speech at the exhibition on Thursday afternoon about Indonesia's wish to enhance economic, trade and tourism relations with China.

"The Indonesian ambassador is the only foreign envoy given the chance to deliver a speech at the exhibition," Andriana said.

She said Indonesia's participation in the exhibition was an effort by the Indonesian embassy to continue promoting Indonesia's economic potentials in a number of China's provinces.

"We will focus our promotional effort on a number of non-traditional provinces which have not been penetrated by national businessmen," Andriana said, adding that Indonesian businessmen had so far only exported their products to traditional provinces/cities in China such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

"Thus, we are trying to step up promotion of Indonesian products and services in a number of non-traditional provinces in China. However, we are doing this without neglecting promotion in the traditional regions," Andriana said. *ant