Province leads nation in business with neighbor

Northeast China's Heilongjiang province will further develop its long-standing trade partnership with Russia to cover culture, education, tourism and technology, said local officials.

The biggest province in investment and trade with Russia, it accounts for one-quarter of China's trade volume with Russia and one-third of the nation's investment in Russia.

Among the provincial government's efforts to deepen cooperation is the Sino-Russian Expo - formerly known as the China Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair - that will kick off in June.

The expo will focus on attracting investment and further facilitating development of trade in each country.

The vice-premier of Russia will visit the expo, leading more than 100 major enterprises from the country to Harbin, Heilongjiang's capital city.

A railway bridge linking the province's Tongjiang city and Russia's Jewish Autonomous Oblast laid its foundation stone on Feb 26.

The bridge will further open up the Heilongjiang to Northeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

"We will help communication between the bridgehead and junction stations," said Lu Hao, the governor of Heilongjiang.

According to statistics from the provincial government, total import-export volume of the province was just short of $39 billion in 2013, a rise of 3.4 percent.

Bilateral trade with Russia totaled $22.4 billion, up 5.9 percent. It accounted for 25.1 percent of the nation's import-export volume with Russia.

The province's investment in Russia reached $950 million, a rise of 55 percent, some 34.2 percent of the nation's total investment in Russia.

Economic and trade cooperation with Russia is the engine for the province's open economic development, said local officials, as Heilongjiang expands its cooperation in forestry, energy, electronics and agriculture.

The Russian Far East is abundant in a range of resources.

The province also places importance in resource cooperation. By building manufacturing bases in Russia, it will develop an industrial chain across the two countries, said officials.