Heilongjiang province has continued to maintain strong momentum in the volume of imports and exports traded with Russia during the first half of 2017, according to Harbin Customs.

The volume of foreign trade amounted to 36.19 billion yuan ($5.36 billion), accounting for 61.7 percent of the gross foreign trade volume for Heilongjiang province. Of which, export trade accounted for 5.56 billion yuan, and import trade accounted for 30.63 billion yuan, respectively representing year-on-year increases of 13.8 percent and 36.8 percent.

Heilongjiang province in Northeast China, which borders Russia, is playing a much more important role in boosting Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation in recent years.

In addition, the mutual recognition of Chinese and Russian customs procedures, as well as the one-off inspection of inbound and outbound goods undertaken at the border, shortens the time taken to clear customs and cuts costs on imported and exported goods, according to a staff member from Harbin customs.