Russia and China have opened a new cross-border bridge in the Far East, which they hope will further boost trade as Moscow moves away from sweeping Western sanctions on its actions in Ukraine. The bridge connecting the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk with the Chinese city of Heihe via the Amur River – known in China as the Heilongjiang – is about 1 kilometer long and cost 19 billion rubles ($ 342 million), the RIA news agency reported on Friday. In the middle of a fireworks display, trucks from both ends crossed the bridge with two lanes decorated with flags in the colors of the two countries, according to videos from the inauguration. Russian officials said the bridge would bring Moscow and Beijing closer by boosting trade, after announcing a “borderless” partnership in February, shortly before President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine. “In today’s divided world, the Blagoveshchensk-Heihe bridge between Russia and China has a special symbolic meaning,” said Yuri Trutnev, the Kremlin’s spokesman for the Russian Far East. China wants to deepen practical cooperation with Russia in all areas, said Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua at the inauguration. Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Saveliev said the bridge would help boost bilateral annual trade to more than a million tonnes of goods.
Reduction of travel time
The bridge has been under construction since 2016 and was completed in May 2020, but its opening was delayed due to cross-border restrictions COVID-19, said BTS-MOST, the company that builds the bridge on the Russian side. BTS-MOST said freight traffic on the bridge would reduce the travel distance of Chinese goods to western Russia by 1,500 kilometers (930 miles). Vehicles crossing the bridge have to pay tolls of 8,700 rubles ($ 150), a price that is expected to fall as tolls begin to offset construction costs. Russia said in April that it expects trade flows with China to increase and trade with Beijing to reach $ 200 billion by 2024. China is a major buyer of Russian natural resources and agricultural products. China has refused to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine and has criticized Western sanctions on Moscow.
