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BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The northeast China's city of Suifenhe at Russian border has been a bustling place for cross-border economic and trade activities for decades. And after the "belt and road" initiative was promoted, the small city of Suifenhe now has a big vision.
The best way barometer of foreign trade, is the number of trucks loaded with goods that go through customs every day. China's "One Belt, One Road" initiatives give attention to Russia's developments in the Far East. They depend heavily on routes here in Heilongjiang province, like the Trans-Siberian route to Russia, as well as routes for cargo transport to Europe. Suifenhe is the leading city for China-Russia trade. Customs here is prepared for a bigger role.
Chen Cuncai, supervisor of Suifenhe Customs, Heilongjiang Province said:"In order to be able to handle more freights and goods as the economic belt is developed, we've carried out the reform for integrated and paperless customs clearance, as well as increased the working hours to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week."
The city has actively supported the new national economic belt program and drawn up plans to build an open economic system. In 2013 Suifenhe became the first city in the Chinese mainland to allow the rouble to flow freely. Russian visitors were also granted visa-free visits for up to 15 days. The aim of these measures: connectivity.
In the broad vision of the "One Belt, One Road" initiatives, it all starts with connectivity. And only when infrastructure bottlenecks are eased, can the plan progress further. That's exactly what the border city has been doing: building itself into a key hub for logistics, storage and custom clearance for goods in and out of China's northeast."
Since the city is a key hub for China's opening-up to Russia and Northeast Asia, its logistics & storage system was improved in line with the initiatives; already we are seeing emerging businesses.
"We've been investing in refrigerated warehouses and logistics centers along the routes in the economic belt. The headquarters are in Suifenhe. From next month, we'll be able to ship fresh seafood from Russia to the rest of China," said Zhang Yongguo, manager of Kuyang Cold Chain Logistics,
So what do people from the neighboring countries think about China's "One Belt, One Road' initiatives? Timofey Lutsenko, manager of Contract Manager LLC, Russia said:"Most people in Russia have high expectations about China's proposal for the development on the New Silk Road program. From a business point of view: there will be more competition in the market when infrastructure is improved, but the overall economy will become more activated."
Today, with the initiatives asking many Chinese cities to establish closer economic ties with Eurasia, the city of Suifenhe has set a good example.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
