China, Russia agree to build huge grain hub at border to facilitate trade, enhance food security
- Fresh deals signed at Eastern Economic Forum in Russian city bordering China show how the neighbours continue to grow closer amid tensions with West
- Chinese imports of Russian agricultural products, such as soybeans and rapeseed oil, have rapidly increased as Beijing steps up efforts to guarantee food supplies
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The cosying up that China and Russia have been doing since last year continued on Monday as both sides agreed to invest heavily to improve their grain trade – a move that comes as Beijing has made food security a priority with 1.4 billion mouths to feed.
Against the backdrop of the four-day Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, firms from both countries signed multiple agreements on Monday to ensure that Russian grain makes its way to China as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The New Land Grain Corridor – a group of companies managing the development of grain production and infrastructure in Russia’s Ural Mountains, Siberia and the far east – will work with the state-backed China Chengtong International Investment to create a logistics hub at the border.
The new hub, known as the “Grain Terminal Nizhneleninskoye-Tongjiang”, will be located between Vladivostok in Russia’s far east and China’s northeastern province of Heilongjiang, with a total investment of 15 billion roubles (US$159 million).
“This is a continuation of the current agreement between the parties on strategic cooperation and expansion of mutual trade, as well as the next step in the implementation of the ‘New Russia-China Land Grain Corridor’ programme,” said an official forum statement.
The Eastern Economic Forum started on Sunday and has been attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing and several business representatives.
The deals signed there show how bilateral economic cooperation continues to improve between the neighbours, particularly as tensions with the West have upended supply chains and restricted trade.
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