Negative image
Fu is not the only Chinese businessman who has suffered harsh treatment in Russia.
It was reported in 2009 that Russian authorities destroyed a batch of products with a total value of $2 billion that they said had been smuggled from China.
But businessman Ni Jixiang told the Beijing-based International Herald Leader that the goods had not been smuggled. The local goods clearance companies wanted to avoid paying business tax, so they hadn't provided the necessary tariff receipts to the Chinese companies, said Ni.
Similar reports have been common in the past 10 years in both the Chinese and Russian media.
"The Russian media always presents a negative image of Chinese businessmen, which makes it more difficult for us to do business in Russia," a man surnamed Yang from Zhejiang Province who is engaged in a vegetable business in Moscow, told the Global Times via telephone Monday.
"Unlike large European companies, most of our Chinese companies are small-sized ones, and we don't have enough power to protect ourselves here in Russia," Yang noted.
Cai Guiru, director of the Moscow-based Russia China Business Chamber of Commerce, who has worked in Russia for 18 years, told the Global Times Monday that "Fu's case is much more complicated than what you have heard, and more investigation is needed."
Cai said she would talk with related departments in Russia about the case. But she agreed that Russian people have had a negative attitude toward Chinese businessmen for a long time.
"I think Russia has paid more attention to its reputation in international trade, given that it finally joined the World Trade Organization in December 2011, after 18 years of negotiation," Cai said.
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