The China Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair, predecessor of the ongoing China-Russia Expo, was launched in 1990. The fair was organized by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Heilongjiang provincial government, the Zhejiang provincial government and the Harbin city government. More than 10 foreign government departments, including the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, also sponsored the fair.

The annual fair was held from June 15 to 19 in Harbin. Over the past 26 years, it attracted nearly 1.8 million visitors from more than 80 countries and regions and witnessed a total of 198 billion yuan in deals. In October 2013, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Heilongjiang provincial government signed an agreement to change the name of the fair to the China-Russia Expo.