China's "Double 11" online shopping extravaganza has kept the border regions bustling with Russian shoppers. During the "Double 11" period, some Russians pick up a dozen or more packages in one go, according to local express station owners.

What do Russian shoppers buy on Taobao? According to the express stations, they go for items like thermal underwear, electric hot water bags, heated table mats, spicy snacks, and liquor – all with a distinctive "warrior spirit."

Since the resumption of China-Russia cross-border visa-free policy in September, Heilongjiang has seen a surge in Russian tourists. Heilongjiang, as a frontier province, boasts the longest border with Russia, stretching 3,038 kilometers and having the most border crossings.

For instance, it takes only seven minutes by boat from the Russian side to reach Heihe City on the Chinese side, allowing many Russian friends to enjoy cross-border breakfasts. The shops and street vendors in Heihe have bilingual signs to facilitate Russian shoppers.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, Heihe received over 600,000 visitors, a 184.9% increase from 2019, with a record number of 14,683 inbound and outbound travelers, frequently exceeding 2,000 visitors a day.

In recent days, around 600 Russians have been entering China daily through the Suifenhe border crossing, engaging in tourism, shopping, and tasting local cuisine in this border city. Medical tourism focusing on traditional Chinese medicine has gained popularity among Russian visitors. Acupuncture, cupping therapy, and other traditional Chinese medicine treatments have attracted a large number of Russian tourists. The Suifenhe People's Hospital has even designed health check-up packages for Russian tourists and opened a medical tourism reception room with dedicated interpreters.

The scenes in Heihe and Suifenhe represent just a glimpse of the China-Russian trade. For example, Ozon, the second-largest e-commerce platform in Russia, sources 90% of its imported products from China.

In fact, China-Russian bilateral trade has skyrocketed over the past two years, from 107.7 billion US dollars in 2020 to a peak of 146.8 billion dollars in 2021. In 2022, it surged to 190.2 billion dollars. There is optimism that it will surpass 200 billion dollars this year. According to the plans of China and Russia, the bilateral trade volume should reach 250 billion dollars by 2024.

Russia has risen to become China's fourth-largest foreign trade partner, surpassing Australia. In 2020, Russia was only China's tenth-largest trade partner.

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains unresolved, the "Great Bear's" focus is shifting eastward. Northeastern China's products are excellent substitutes for European and American goods.

According to a report by Tebon Securities, China's chemical, transportation equipment, and plastics and rubber products have the most significant substitution effect among imported goods in Russia. Northeast provinces are the major producers of the former two categories, and the latter is closely linked to the automobile industry's production layout. Jilin is the cradle of China's automobile industry. On the other hand, Russian enterprises are rapidly setting up branches in Northeast China. In Liaoning alone, Russia has established 40 new foreign-invested companies in the first nine months of this year, a 700% increase from the previous year.

俄罗斯人组团到黑龙江取快递，背后是东北的新机遇

中国的“双十一”网购大促，可忙坏了边境的俄罗斯人民——有边境附近快递站老板表示，“双十一”期间，有些俄罗斯朋友一次要取十几个快递。

俄罗斯朋友逛淘宝都买点啥？据快递站表示，保暖内衣、电热水袋、发热桌垫，还有辣条、白酒……总之，很有“战斗民族”的特色。

随着9月份以来中俄两国互免签证团体旅游业务的恢复，黑龙江迎来大批俄罗斯游客。作为边疆大省，黑龙江是我国与俄罗斯边境线最长的省份，长达3038公里，与俄罗斯有着最多的边境口岸。

比如黑河，从俄罗斯对岸坐船仅7分钟就可以到达。这也让不少俄罗斯朋友实现了跨国吃早餐。据悉，黑河沿街店铺和早市摊贩都是中俄双语的招牌，以便俄罗斯朋友选购。

据悉，中秋、国庆双节假日期间，黑河共接待游客60余万人次，恢复至2019年的184.9%，共监管出入境旅客达14683人次，通关量连创新高，多日突破2000人次。

近期以来，每天都有约600名俄罗斯人从绥芬河口岸入境，在这座边陲城市旅游休闲、购物、品尝美食。特别是针对俄罗斯游客开展的以中医保健治疗为特色的医疗旅游服务，受到广泛欢迎，针灸、拔罐等中医理疗项目吸引大量俄罗斯游客前来体验。绥芬河市人民医院还专门为俄罗斯游客设计了体检套餐，设置对俄医疗旅游接待室，配备专职翻译陪同检查。

黑河和绥芬河的场景只是中俄贸易的一个缩影。例如在俄罗斯排名第二的电商Ozon，目前90%的进口商品都来自中国。

实际上，中俄双边贸易额这两年一路飙升，从2020年的1077亿美元到2021年高涨至1468亿美元，2022年又狂飙至 1902亿美元，今年更是有望突破2000亿美元。根据中俄双方的规划，到2024年之前双边贸易额要达到2500亿美元。

目前，俄罗斯已经超过澳大利亚跃升至中国主要对外贸易伙伴国家的第四位。而在2020年，俄罗斯还只是中国第十大贸易伙伴。

俄乌冲突僵持不下，这只“大熊”的目光正向东转移。东北的产品，有着很强的对欧美国家产品的替代效应。

根据德邦证券的报告，在俄罗斯的进口商品中，我国的化工、运输设备、塑料橡胶三类产品的替代效应最为显著。前两者东北的优势不必再说，后者则与汽车行业的生产布局密不可分。而新中国汽车工业的起步，便在吉林。另一方面，俄资企业也在快速入驻东北，仅在辽宁，今年前9个月，俄罗斯就新设立外商投资企业40家，同比增长700%。

撰文 | 冷爽
图片 | 网络
翻译 | 刘佳慧