Vladimir Putin recently released a report titled "Ranking of the Achievements of China-Russia Regional Cooperation and the Effectiveness of Cooperation in 2022-2023", which scores and commends Russian regions based on the results of cooperation with China. The ranking is scored out of 10 and comprehensively evaluates the contribution and effectiveness of each region in Sino-Russian cooperation. The Republic of Tatarstan, the Amur Region, Primorsky Krai, the Jewish Autonomous Region, and the Tula Region became the five regions with the highest scores, all of which received a high score of 9.
The Republic of Tatarstan is located in the Volga region of southwestern Russia, with the capital of Kazan, and is a key node of the China-Europe Express. The local government has made full use of this advantage to cooperate with China in the construction of a logistics center and the creation of the largest industrial production special economic zone in Russia - the "Alabuga" special economic zone to attract foreign investment. Over the past three years, Tatarstan has been awarded the first place in the investment climate of Russia three times in a row.
The Amur Region, Primorsky Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Region share a border with China, so there is a very long history of cooperation with China. Amur Region borders Heilongjiang Province, and landmark projects include the Heilongjiang Bridge and the Amur Gas Processing Plant. The Heilongjiang Bridge is the first cross-border highway bridge between China and Russia, which took decades to complete and open to traffic. The Amur gas processing plant is one of the largest gas processing plants in Russia and is built by a Chinese company. Cooperation in Primorsky Krai is mainly focused on the field of maritime ports, for example, the port of Vladivostok has become a transit port for domestic trade goods in Jilin Province.
The Tula region, located near Moscow, received 9 points for Great Wall Motors' establishment of a factory there. Great Wall Motor's Haval brand has been a huge success in the Russian market, and after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the brand's sales have increased significantly.
1. The history of the struggle of the Heilongjiang Bridge
The construction of the Heilongjiang Bridge has gone through a long time. As early as 1988, the Chinese side proposed the idea of building a bridge over the Heilongjiang River, but due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, this project was shelved for a long time. In 1995, China and Russia put this item back on the agenda and reached a consensus, but Yeltsin ** reversed course, causing the project to be stranded again. It was not until 2013 that the project was mentioned again, and with the help of the Chinese side, the construction officially began in 2016. After three years of construction, the bridge was officially opened to traffic in June last year. Today, the bridge can carry nearly 200 vehicles per day.
2. The construction and great potential of the Amur gas processing plant
The Amur gas processing plant is one of the largest gas processing plants in Russia and is built by a Chinese company. The project will be constructed in three sections and will start in 2017. Putin personally attended the groundbreaking ceremony in 2017. As of April this year, the completion rate of the plant has reached more than 88%. Once completed, the plant will be the largest gas processing plant in Russia, with the capacity to process 42 billion cubic meters of natural gas and produce 6 million cubic meters of helium per year.
3. "Maritime cooperation" in Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai is located in the Russian Far East, on the border with China, and has numerous port resources. Cooperation between the region and China revolves around the maritime sector. The port of Vladivostok has become a transit port for domestic trade goods in Jilin Province, and goods from Heilongjiang and Kyrgyzstan provinces are transported to developed provinces such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang through shipping. In addition, the Red Star Shipyard in Primorsky Krai is an important cooperation project, and Chinese companies are responsible for the construction of part of the shipyard's facilities.
4. The role of the Jewish Autonomous Prefecture as a logistics transit hub
Despite its small size, the Jewish Autonomous Region is located near China and serves as a logistics hub between China and Russia. In December last year, the Tongjiang Railway Bridge was officially opened to traffic, connecting the city of Tongjiang in Heilongjiang with the city of Nizhny Leninskoye in the Jewish Autonomous Region. Although the project began in 2008, it was not officially opened to traffic until last year due to delays in the construction of the Russian section.
In addition to the above regions bordering China, there are two regions bordering China that receive 9 points in the ranking: the Republic of Tatarstan and the Tula Oblast. As a key node of the China-Europe freight train, Tatarstan enjoys a convenient logistics environment and has built the "Alabuga" special economic zone to attract foreign investment. The Tula region received high marks for Great Wall Motor's Haval production plant in the region. Sino-Russian cooperation still has great potential for development in these regions.
In short, Sino-Russian cooperation is currently mainly concentrated in several regions along the border between the two countries, as well as in the developed western regions of Russia and in the Far East, which does not border China. The ranking shows that these regions have made remarkable achievements in Sino-Russian cooperation, but there is still more potential to be tapped. If Russia can break through geographical limitations and enable more traditionally developed regions to achieve high scores in Sino-Russian cooperation, it will show that Sino-Russian cooperation has achieved high-quality and all-round development.