China Increases Trade Cooperation with Russia

  Russian and Chinese officials discussed expanding regional cooperation and upgrading checkpoints and transport infrastructure on the two countries' common border. The Consul General of Russia in Harbin and Governor of Helongjiang Province on Friday (4/8/2023) discussed increasing bilateral cooperation, including the improvement of cable transport communication lines in the cities of Blagoveshchensk, Russia, and Hila, China, and the development of the Dejalinda-Mohe border. The Russian diplomatic mission announced that in the first half of this year, Helongjiang province's trade with Russia increased by 15.9 percent.

The Governor of Helongjiang Province pointed out the province's commercial and industrial capacity, and emphasized the priority of expanding and enhancing relations with Moscow. The two sides also expressed their wish to continue further cooperative contacts and strengthen regional ties. On July 28, China's first freight train arrived in Russia via the Amur River, which helped open a new trade route between the two countries. In February 2022, Russia and China agreed on a roadmap to increase bilateral trade in goods and services to $200 billion by 2024. Heilongjiang Province, with a population of 38 million and an area of 460,000 square kilometers, is located in northeastern China and borders Russia. The provincial capital is the city of Harbin.(PH)