The China-Russia (Harbin) Economic and Trade Index Report (2021) was officially released on July 14 in Harbin, capital city of Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, which borders Russia.

The report is said to accurately reflect trade between Russia and China, as well as different regions in China – measuring levels and documenting trends in bilateral trade developments – through a quantifiable index system.

According to the report, in 2020, the China-Russia trade index remained stable at 194.06 points.

The growth rate of China-Russia trade ranked first among China's major trading partners last year. China continued to maintain its position as Russia's largest trading partner and Russia was China's 10th largest trading partner in 2020.

The report provides information for policy decisions on Harbin's trade, cooperation and communications with Russia, said Ma Youjun, an expert from the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

As a regional major city directly trading with Russia, Harbin has continued to improve its commerce with the country and has become a new economic growth pole in Northeast China, according to Luan Zhicheng, vice-mayor of Harbin.

The city has opened air services to nine cities in Russia and the Harbin International Railway Container Center Station – which is directly connected to 17 other central station trunk lines across China – has undertaken cross-border logistics, ultimately radiating out to all corners of the world, Luan added.

The Harbin area of the China Heilongjiang Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and the Harbin New Area – as the northernmost pilot free trade zone in the country and the only national-level new area with the theme of cooperation with Russia – have performed extremely well.

They have attracted a large number of Russian economic and trade enterprises to register and settle in Harbin and have served as windows for China-Russia economic and trade cooperation, said Ren Hailong, director of the Harbin FTZ Administration.

Moving forward, plans are for Harbin to undertake more measures to comprehensively promote practical cooperation between Harbin and Russia.