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The 8th Eastern Economic Forum in Russia has been successfully concluded at the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, and Sino-Russian cooperation is a major attraction.
The Russian side said that it will export natural gas to China next year from 297$3 thousand cubic meters dropped to 2716 dollars 1,000 cubic meters, 211 dollars less than the average price of natural gas supplied to Europe 1,000 cubic meters, Russia has once again made concessions to China.
At the same time, Russia has also transferred the S-300V air defense ** system in the South Kuril Islands, and is ready to hand over projects in the Far East with a total value of more than $160 billion to China.
The "back" of Russia
The Far East is the "back" of Russia, the largest country in the world, spanning the Eurasian continent, and although the land is mainly in Asia, Russians have always considered themselves Europeans.
Whether it was the Tsarist era or the Soviet era, the strategic center of gravity of the Russians was in Europe, and all they thought about all day long was how to navigate the West, while the Far East had a very low sense of existence, and it was appropriate to call the Far East the "back" of Russia.
Of course, being stabbed in the back by someone else is also fatal, in fact, the Far East is very important for Russia, especially after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
On the one hand, the Russian Far East is Russia's strategic rear, although it is poor, it accounts for 40% of the territory of the Russian Federation, which can provide Russia with enough strategic depth and exchange space for time.
Russia's terrain is high in the east and low in the west, and the east is dominated by plains, and the enemy's mechanized troops are easy to advance, which is not conducive to Russia's defense.
The Far East is rich in resources, and can also be used as a large rear of materials, which occupies more than 70% of Russia's domestic fish and diamond resources, 50% of timber and reserves, more than 30% of titanium, copper, coal and freshwater resources, etc., and the total proven value of oil and minerals is more than 25 trillion US dollars.
Therefore, the Far East is to Russia what the Southwest is to China, and in peacetime it is relatively lagging behind in development due to the harsh natural environment, but once the war starts, it is the rear of the people of the whole country.
On the other hand, the Russian Far East is at the forefront of pinning down on the United States.
The Chukotka Peninsula, the easternmost point of the Far East, is separated from Alaska by a 100-kilometer-wide Bering Strait, and the Russian Army has deployed missiles on the Chukotka Peninsula to attack the US mainland at any time.
Why can't the Far East develop?
The Far East is of great importance to Russia, but it has not been able to develop.
The Asian part of Russia covers an area of 13 million square kilometers, which is larger than China, with a population of only 38.62 million in 2022 and an economic aggregate of only 2.83 trillion yuan, which is less than the total economic output of Guangzhou, China.
The Russian Far East is one of the three major regions in the Asian part of Russia, which is even more inhospitable, with an average of less than one person per square kilometer, a total population of 6 million equivalent to the total population of an ordinary prefecture-level city in China, and an economic total of 580 billion yuan smaller than the total economic output of Xiangyang, Hubei.
There are many reasons why the Far East is so depressed in social development.
First, the Russian Far East is very cold, with an average temperature of minus 30 degrees in January, far lower than minus 10 degrees in Moscow.
Second, the land is barren, not suitable for the growth of crops, and the terrain is rugged, which is not conducive to cultivation.
Third, Russia's territorial expansion started from Europe and gradually expanded to the east, so its industry and economy were concentrated in Europe, and the Asian part played the role of "leading party" for a long time.
The four major industrial regions of Russia, the Moscow Industrial Region, the St. Petersburg Industrial Region and the Ural Industrial Region, are all in Europe, the Novosibirsk Industrial Region is close to Central Asia, and none of the industrial zones are located in the Far East.
Russia is sincere in making concessions to China?
The economy of the Russian Far East is backward, and the people here urgently need development, as the saying goes, "if the Russians in the Far East cannot be rich at the same time as the Russians in Europe, then it may not be impossible for the Far East to go out.
Between 1911 and 2011, the population of the Russian Far East fell by about 22 percent, mainly to European cities, while farmers and merchants from China, Japan, and Korea began to pour into the region.
Putin once warned that if Russia in the Far East does not take practical measures to develop the Far East, the Russian population in the Far East may only speak Chinese, Japanese and Korean in a few decades.
It can be seen that Putin has long been wary, and in 2015 he signed a decree announcing that the Eastern Economic Forum would be held in Vladivostok every year to promote economic development and international cooperation in the Far East.
The Far East has been under the jurisdiction of China for a long time in history, and Russia's main wariness is naturally China, but because its own strength is not enough, and there are no other international partners to cooperate with, it can only invite China to develop together.
In addition, Russia, which is mired in war, has even more to "look east".
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Russia's industrial and economic ties with Western countries have been significantly reduced, and Russia must re-find economic growth points if it wants to develop its economy.
To the north, Russia has no other countries to cooperate, and to the south, from west to east, the Caucasus, the five Central Asian countries, and Mongolia.
The Caucasus and further south Syria and Iraq are politically unstable and turbulent, and the five Central Asian countries and Mongolia are deeply landlocked and economically backward.
So Russia can only look eastward, Japan and South Korea on the East Asian Peninsula are secretly sending ** to Ukraine, how can it be possible to engage in joint development with Russia, North Korea supports Russia, and the country is even more lackluster in addition to its military strength.
Therefore, looking at the whole world, whether Russia wants to or not, whether it is on guard or not, it can only invite China to jointly develop the Far East.
Of course, the Chinese side is also willing to participate in it, at least it will be of great benefit to the revitalization of Northeast China, and the Chinese side has sent a high-level delegation to the Russian Eastern Economic Forum.
Zhang Guoqing, head of the delegation, said that China is willing to work with Russia to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen the coordination and docking of regional development strategies, promote the sustained development of China-Russia cooperation, and continue to achieve new results.