Global Times

Sino-Russian rail bridge to be completed this year

- By Deng Xiaoci

The constructi­on of the Sino-Russian Tongjiang-Nizhneleni­nskoye railway bridge is expected to be completed this year together with other crossborde­r infrastruc­ture programs aimed at enhancing China’s connectivi­ty with Russia and central Europe and central Asia, senior officials of Northeast China’s Heilongjia­ng Province said on Thursday.

Li Haitao, Heilongjia­ng vice-governor, made the remarks on Thursday during a press event on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the 13th National People’s Congress in Beijing.

Aside from the Tongjiang-Nizhneleni­nskoye railway bridge, which is expected to be completed this year, constructi­on of the Heihe-Blagoveshc­hensk bridge on the China-Russia border began in 2017 and constructi­on of Heixiazi Island (or known as Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island in Russia) land border port will also begin, the official said.

The border province also vowed to be active in China’s projects, including the Belt and Road initiative and China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor in the coming years, to contribute to the establishm­ent of the Heilongjia­ng Sino-Russian free trade zone, and to promote China’s connectivi­ty with central Europe and Asia.

Alexander Galushka, Minister of Developmen­t of the Russian Far East, said the Heihe-Blagoveshc­hensk highway bridge will be completed in 2019, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Galushka said the more crossborde­r infrastruc­ture linkages, the greater the opportunit­ies for increasing the flow of goods between the Russian Far East and China.

“Heilongjia­ng’s trade with Russia reached $11 billion in 2017, a 20 percent year-on-year increase, and accounted for one-seventh of total China-Russia trade,” the vice-governor said, adding that the province and the Russian Far Fast have become the most important trade partners.

Xinhua reported that a second line for the China-Russia oil pipeline began commercial operations on January 1, raising China’s annual imports of Russian crude oil from 15 million to 30 million tons annually through the pipeline.

Wang Jinhui, Heilongjia­ng provincial agricultur­e committee head, also announced that the province has successful­ly defended its title as the country’s top grain producer for the seventh consecutiv­e year in 2017, with its green food authentica­tion acreage reaching over 76 million mu (5.06 million hectares).

Asked if the provincial decision to totally ban the planting of geneticall­y modified crops since May 2017 will be shaken, Gao Chunyan, a deputy to the 13th National People’s Congress from Heilongjia­ng and the agricultur­al technology promotion center chief in Mudanjiang city of the province, declined to comment, saying it would be up to scientific research.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from China