Since the resumption of customs clearance, passenger traffic has resumed, and the number of Russian tourists has increased significantly, while the export of domestically produced cars has exceeded the whole of last year. Sun Xianchao/Graphic
Securities Times reporter Sun Xianchao
Hunchun is located at the easternmost tip of Jilin Province. It is the only border window city in China that is located at the junction of China, Russia and North Korea. It is connected to Russia and North Korea by mountains and rivers, and faces South Korea and Japan across the sea.
As a window city for Jilin Province to open to the outside world, Hunchun has carried out extensive trade cooperation with Russia's Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai. In recent years, Hunchun has gradually developed into an important window city for trade with Russia.
After the heads of state of China and Russia signed the 'Joint Statement of the President of the People's Republic of China and the President of the Russian Federation on the Development Plan of the Key Directions of Sino-Russian Economic Cooperation by 2030', Hunchun, a small city on the northeast border, is ushering in an important opportunity for development.
A reporter from the Securities Times recently went to Hunchun for interviews and learned that since the resumption of passenger customs clearance on January 8, the number of tourists from Russia on the streets of Hunchun has increased significantly. With the continuous deepening of economic and trade cooperation with Russia, the local area has formed industrial clusters such as import processing industry, energy, and fresh seafood, and the trade volume with Russia has increased year by year. In particular, the export of complete vehicles to Russia is becoming a new bright spot in Hunchun's economic and trade field with Russia. Some interviewed companies are very optimistic about the prospects of Sino-Russian trade and are actively looking for new business opportunities.
Russians on the streets of Hunchun
Significant increase
Hunchun Port is a national first-class port, about 15 kilometers away from the urban area of Hunchun. The opposite of this port is Kraskino Port in Russia, and the distance between the two ports is about 40 kilometers.
On April 13, outside the Hunchun port, the reporter saw that dozens of trucks loaded with goods were queuing up on the side of the road waiting for customs clearance, including some trucks with Russian license plates. In the port, some Russian tourists walked out of the immigration hall one after another.
The reporter learned from the Hunchun International Passenger Terminal that Hunchun has previously opened four passenger lines to Russia, including Kraskino, Slavyanka, Ussuriysk and Vladivostok, and currently the three lines except Slavyanka have resumed operation. Lines, but these 3 lines do not guarantee that there will be buses running every day. 'From Monday to Saturday, there will be buses to Kraskino, and the number of departures per day will depend on the number of passengers.' A staff member at the passenger terminal said.
During the epidemic period, the goods at Hunchun Port were overwhelmed by people. While ensuring the normal progress of bilateral trade, the passenger transport pressed the pause button. On January 8 this year, Hunchun Port resumed passenger clearance.
'Recently, the number of Russians on the streets of Hunchun has increased significantly, but the number should not have returned to the peak level before the epidemic.' A Hunchun resident said that some of the Russians in Hunchun came to Hunchun to find business opportunities. , more travel, shopping, medical treatment and so on.
In the commercial street of Yanhexi Street in Hunchun City, the plaques of the merchants are marked in Chinese, Korean and Russian, which is difficult to see in other cities. degree of importance.
At noon on April 13, a reporter from the Securities Times encountered more than 20 foreign tourists on a section of the commercial street less than 100 meters away.
'These are tourists from Russia. Chinese products are high-quality, cheap, and rich in variety, and are very popular among Russian tourists.' After seeing off several foreign tourists, a shop assistant told the Securities Times reporter, 'According to our daily observations , the number of customers from Russia has shown a continuous increase recently.'
It is understood that since the resumption of passenger customs clearance on January 8, the flow of inbound and outbound passengers at the China-Russia Hunchun Port has continued to rise. As of March 31, the Hunchun Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection Station has inspected more than 18,000 entry-exit personnel, with an average daily passenger flow of more than 400 person-times, a year-on-year increase of 263%.
The import and export volume of Hunchun port last year
Achieving double-digit growth
A reporter from the Securities Times learned in the interview that in recent years, relying on its location advantages and port advantages, Hunchun City has continued to deepen economic and trade cooperation with Russia, and has now formed important industrial clusters such as import processing, energy, and fresh seafood.
Since 2012, Hunchun Kaili International Trade Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd. has been engaged in the freight forwarding business of fresh seafood in Russia. It is the earliest loan and transportation agency company in Hunchun City to engage in this business. The company had a total of 12 employees before the epidemic, but since June last year, the business volume has increased significantly. For this reason, the number of employees in the company has also gradually increased, and it has now increased to 17.
According to a manager of the company, Hunchun's trade with Russia has not been greatly affected by the three-year epidemic. Since the beginning of this year, trade with Russia has become more intense. Previously, the products exported to Russia were mainly light industrial products represented by clothing, shoes and hats, daily necessities, etc. Now, according to the feedback from customers, the types of products exported to Russia through Hunchun Port are becoming more and more abundant, and many customers are looking for Russian products. New opportunities for export.
'According to the information we have, the business volume of freight forwarding for trade with Russia will increase this year, and it will be a high probability event that the number of employees will continue to increase.' The manager said.
Hunchun Bulk Commodity Service Platform Co., Ltd. and Hunchun Kaili International Trade Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd. are in different fields. Founded in 2021, the company is mainly engaged in Russian coal import business at this stage. In 2022, it will import 1.3 million tons of coal through the Hunchun Railway Port.
'We are the supply guarantee unit designated by the Jilin Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology. The thermal coal imported from Russia is given priority to power generation companies in Jilin Province, which plays an important role in guaranteeing the supply of thermal coal.' The project leader of Hunchun Bulk Commodity Service Platform Co., Ltd. introduced , 'Based on the optimistic prospects for the development of trade with Russia, Hunchun Bulk Commodity Service Platform Co., Ltd. is planning to open up some new areas of trade with Russia.'
Data show that in 2022, Jilin Province will import 5.52 million tons of coal from Russia, a year-on-year increase of 15%; export more than 8,000 complete vehicles to Russia, a year-on-year increase of 306%; import 162,000 tons of seafood from Russia, a year-on-year increase of 30%. Liquefied petroleum gas, soybeans, photoelectric products, and pharmaceutical products have become new growth points for Jilin Province's trade with Russia.
'Hunchun City's trade with Russia has shown a trend of increasing year by year, and there has been no decline even during the three-year epidemic period.' A relevant staff member of the Hunchun Municipal Bureau of Commerce said.
According to Liang Jingtao, deputy director of the Hunchun Port Management Service Center, Russia's demand for Chinese goods has increased significantly, and the total import and export volume of Hunchun Port in 2022 has achieved double-digit growth.
The export of complete vehicles keeps breaking new records
'Hunchun's export of complete vehicles to Russia has shown a momentum of rapid growth, becoming a new bright spot in Hunchun's trade with Russia.' A local person from Hunchun City introduced.
On April 14, a reporter from the Securities Times saw dozens of dump trucks, dump trucks and buses parked in the Hunchun Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and the words 'export vehicles' were posted on the front windshields of some vehicles.
'More than 30 vehicles will be sent to Russia through the Hunchun port today.' Wang Yubao, deputy director of the Hunchun Comprehensive Bonded Zone Administration, said that after the first test of the Hunchun Comprehensive Bonded Zone's vehicle export business to Russia was successful on January 6, 2022, after 15 After several months of operation, it has now been operating normally, and this year it will strive to export 10,000 vehicles to Russia.
According to reports, relying on the advantages of Jilin Province's automobile manufacturing industry, Hunchun City's export volume of complete vehicles to Russia has continuously broken historical records, becoming a new bright spot in Hunchun City's and even Jilin Province's trade with Russia. At present, Hunchun's vehicle export business covers passenger cars, as well as dump trucks, buses, concrete mixer trucks and other models.
'Dongfeng and Jianghuai have also completed the registration in the Hunchun Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and will soon export vehicles to Russia.' Wang Yubao said.
Hunchun Zhonghe Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. will start the export business of complete vehicles to Russia from January 7, 2022. The company is the first enterprise in the Hunchun Comprehensive Free Trade Zone to carry out the export business of complete vehicles. In 2022, Hunchun Zhonghe Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. will export more than 2,700 complete vehicles to Russia through Hunchun Port.
'In the first quarter of this year, our car exports to Russia have reached the level of 2022, and it is estimated that this year's car exports to Russia are expected to reach 7,000.' Jiang Xueqing, manager of Hunchun Zhonghe Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., said.
According to Liang Jingtao, as of April 2, 2023, 3,589 domestically-produced cars have been exported through the Hunchun port to Russia, and the export volume has exceeded the total volume of last year.
According to a notice jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security, and the General Administration of Customs on December 6, 2022, Hunchun City was successfully approved for the export of used cars. This is the first time that Jilin Province has entered the national series of second-hand car export regions after Changchun City.