China Jilin Builds Railway Port with Russia

As was previously announced, a group of Jilin provincial officials are continuing their journey through Russia's Far East, and met with Russian Far East Railway Administration officials, on May 19, to discuss cooperation on a railway trade port involving the city of Hunchun, Jilin.

Taking part in the meeting were Bayinchaolu, Jilin Party secretary, and Li Hui, China's ambassador to Russia, along with Jilin Railway staff, with Bayinchaolu acknowledging Russia's active role in contributing to the cooperation with its northeastern Chinese neighbor in cross-border trade.

This port is considered a key passageway to Russia, but was shuttered for several years, until 2009, when both parties began doing a lot to restart it and Jilin began cooperation with the Far East Railway so that the port reopened in 2013 and saw 630,000 tons of goods moving through it in 2014. In the first quarter of this year alone, it handled 300,000 tons.

Bayinchaolu said that the port brings development opportunities to the two regions and that Jilin will do its best to increase construction work and cargo capacity, as well as rail-water transportation and the Jilin-Russia-Europe connection. In response, the Far East Railway has put 5-billion rubles ($100 million) this year into the Hunchun port, which is expected be completed by 2017, and is promoting other joint port construction with Jilin and says that it hopes all these projects can open for service as soon as possible.

The two countries updated their construction plans at the meeting and agreed to increase cargo capacity in coal, timber, grains, minerals and bottled water, with the goal of increasing port capacity to 10 million tons by 2017.

The port plays an important role in trade with Russia, the same as the Suifen River - Russia Port in Heilongjiang province and the Manzhouli Port in Inner Mongolia. Jilin's trade with Russia is expected to improve a lot and its resources to be better allocated.