Russian-Chinese border and inter-regional trade and economic cooperation
Russian-Chinese trade and economic cooperation is marked by large-scale border and regional collaboration.
The dynamic of trade and economic ties between Russian and Chinese regions has started slowing down. This is highlighted by mutual trade between Russia and China's Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, as well as Inner Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
As of late 2008, their trade turnover with Russia increased by just 7.6%, as compared to 31.6% in 2007, and reached $19.08 billion. Consequently, the share of these Chinese regions in the total volume of bilateral trade fell to 33.6%, as compared to 36.8% in 2007.
The development of trade operations between China's border provinces and autonomous regions with Russia was influenced by multi-directional trends. On the one hand, China received more Russian goods. On the other hand, imports from China plunged for the first time since 2000.
Russian imports plunged most noticeably, by 40%, from Heilongjiang province, a traditional leader among Chinese regions in terms of trade turnover with Russia. Other provinces and autonomous regions continued to expand their exports and imports. The situation was influenced by global price trends, primarily raw materials prices, which peaked in the second and third quarters of 2008, and fourth quarter demand restrictions.
In 2008, border trade volumes reached $8.37 billion, a 0.3% increase on 2007. Chinese exports to Russia fell by 10.8% within the scope of small-scale wholesale border trade. Russia's total share in Chinese border trade dwindled from 39.1% in 2007 to 27.1% in 2008.
The share of China's industrialised central, coastal and southern provinces in the bilateral border trade continued to increase throughout 2008, reaching 64.16%, as compared to 63.21% in 2007 and 59.7% in 2006.
In 2009, Russia and China continued to cooperate on border and inter-regional trade and economic cooperation issues. On July 29, 2009, Blagoveshchensk hosted the eighth meeting of the permanent working group for inter-regional and border trade and economic cooperation. The group prioritised measures that must be implemented in the sphere of inter-regional and border cooperation to minimize the negative effect of the global financial and economic crisis.
The permanent working group will aim to accomplish the following main objectives:
- to promote expanded inter-regional collaboration in the investment sphere;
- to promote regional projects in the energy industry, the development of natural resources, in-depth timber processing, agriculture, seafood processing, housing construction, etc.;
- to streamline border trade turnover patterns and increase the specific share of machinery, engineering and other high-tech products;
- to expand cooperation on improving the border infrastructure, including checkpoints;
- to promote the establishment of sister-city relations between the two countries' towns and cities, and expand cooperation in every sphere between their sister cities.
In October 2008, an inter-governmental agreement stipulating construction of the Nizhneleninskoye -- Tongjiang border railway checkpoint was signed at the 13th meeting between Russian and Chinese Prime Ministers.
Since 2007, both sides have been discussing the issue of coordinating national regional development strategies under the relevant March 2007 agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and PRC President Hu Jintao.
