China’s Xuanyuan Group Announces Second Major Deal To Develop Amur-Heilongjiang Border with Siberia

Sept. 17, 2023, (EIRNS)—China’s Xuanyuan Group Industrial Development company plans to build a massive logistics hub in the Amur Region in Russia’s Far East, as freight turnover between the two countries has more than doubled over the past year, the RT reported on Sept. 15. Last week the Xuanyuan Group announced another big deal in Amur, at the annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

This latest deal is to build a hub located between the city of Tongjiang in China’s Heilongjiang province and its neighboring town in Russia, Nizhneleninskoye, to facilitate Russia-China cargo transfers.

According to the Xuanyuan Group, the $600-700 million project envisages the construction of a terminal for storage and transportation of hazardous and nonhazardous goods, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas, aviation fuel, helium, and others.

Xuanyuan CEO Hailong Xue said, “The location of this hub is very important as it will be right between our borders. There is a narrow stretch between our frontiers which makes cargo transfer rather problematic. But, with our project, we estimate that freight transportation will reach 10 million tons annually.” He expects cargo traffic between Russia and China to increase fourfold in the next few years.

On Sept. 10 the Xuanyuan Group for Industrial Development revealed plans to create a high-tech industrial park in Russia’s Amur region. The Xuanyuan Group signed a declaration of intent with the Amur Region Investment Attraction Agency to invest up to 10 billion rubles ($102 million) in the industrial park, creating over 400 jobs and bringing in new technology. The Xuanyuan park is intended to produce robots, 3D printers, drones, wind turbine blades, storage and transportation tanks for LNG and helium, and other technological goods.

Amur region lies across the Amur-Heilongjiang River from China’s Heilongjiang province. On July 31, with much fanfare, the first Chinese cargo train crossed into Russia over a new Amur-Heilongjiang River bridge. The Russian Direct Investment Fund funded some of the construction of the 2,209 meter bridge.

The rail bridge and the two latest Xuanyuan deals foreshadow much broader China-Russia collaboration in Russia’s Far East, overlapping India’s intentions in this area.