Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Changchun/Vladivostok, December 16 (Xinhua) — Scanning, sorting, checking, assembling, disinfecting, issuing… At the Cross-Border E-Commerce Control Center of the Hunchun Comprehensive Bonded Zone in Northeast China's Jilin Province, piles of all kinds of cross-border parcels are spread out over an area of approximately 5,400 square meters. Workers are busy scanning codes and precisely sorting the goods.
The city of Hunchun is located in eastern Jilin Province. It borders Russia's Primorsky Krai and has maintained close economic, trade, and cultural ties with the Russian Federation for many years. "Goods purchased by Russian consumers through e-commerce platforms are first collected in various locations in China, then transported to Hunchun, and after clearing customs on-site, exported to overseas warehouses," explained Li Jinhai, head of the e-commerce department at the Hunchun Comprehensive Bonded Zone Administration.
Hunchun is home to a group of companies trading with Russia, and the cross-border e-commerce industry has entered a true "golden age." From January to October of this year, the bonded zone's trade turnover reached 10.343 billion yuan, exceeding the 10 billion yuan mark for the first time. Meanwhile, cross-border e-commerce trade volume reached 8.734 billion yuan, a 90.1 percent increase year-on-year.
Upon entering the Northeast Asia Cross-Border E-Commerce Industrial Park, located in the northern part of the bonded area, the Northeast Asia International Trade City building comes into view. The first and second floors house exhibition and shopping centers, offering a wide selection of affordable goods from countries such as Russia, the Republic of Korea, and Mongolia. Around 200 companies operate in the office space, located in spacious, bright corridors on the third through fifth floors.
"Our company purchases small household appliances from China, including humidifiers, coffee machines, clothes steamers, and robot vacuum cleaners, as well as consumer electronics such as mobile phones, computers, mice, keyboards, headphones, and speakers, as well as new products like 3D printers, and sells them directly to Russian customers," explained Yan Yuchen, CEO of Hunchun Yimaotong E-commerce Co., Ltd. His company operates stores on Ozon, Russia's largest integrated e-commerce platform, the Wildberries online store, and the Yandex website. It receives approximately 3,000 orders per month and has a turnover of over 20 million yuan.
High-quality customer service is key to building a strong customer base. A dozen young employees are glued to their screens in the company's office, managing store operations, answering customer questions, and tracking orders. "Beijing time is five hours ahead of Moscow. To better serve our customers, our employees promptly check and respond to messages even at night," noted Yan Yuchen. After an order is placed, express delivery to most regions of Russia takes 9 to 13 days, while economy delivery takes 15 to 20 days.
Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia, is the largest university in the Far East, and online shopping for Chinese goods has become commonplace for its students. "My classmates often use AliExpress and Ozon to buy Chinese goods, including mobile phones, headphones, cameras, computers, clothing, and shoes. I recently bought some NBA team merchandise made in China, and it was a great shopping experience!" shared student Andrey.
While Chinese goods continue to enter the Russian market, Russian food products such as scallops, cod, squid, soybean oil, and milk powder are increasingly entering the Chinese market. The exhibition hall on the first floor of Hunchun Jidian Digital Border Trade Technology Service Co., Ltd. showcases the achievements of Hunchun's "Time and Space Digital Trade" platform.
"Residents of Hunchun's border areas can independently select and purchase Russian goods through an online platform, after which their orders are processed by Chinese companies," said Zhu Yang, the company's general director. He explained that thanks to this platform, Chinese residents of the border areas can participate in trade remotely and submit declarations online, while Chinese companies benefit from preferential trade policies, significantly reducing raw material costs, while Russian traders also benefit.
In recent years, a number of practical measures taken by Hunchun City and Jilin Province have accelerated the delivery of Chinese parcels to overseas markets. Cainiao has launched a dedicated line in Hunchun for large parcels to Russia, offering express delivery services to most Russian regions for goods weighing less than 31 kg. International road transport of cross-border e-commerce parcels is now available, and a direct logistics route has been established between Hunchun, Vladivostok, and Moscow. In Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province, a dedicated channel for the "9610" cross-border e-commerce model has significantly reduced the time required for declaration, inspection, and customs clearance, expediting the overseas shipment of individual parcels and small consignments.
From encouraging enterprises to establish cross-border e-commerce platforms and providing subsidies to promoting the construction of cross-border e-commerce industrial parks, public service centers, comprehensive pilot zones, and O2O stores, as well as actively developing overseas warehouses, Jilin Province is continuously developing cross-border e-commerce and deepening its high-level opening up. In 2024, Jilin Province's B2B cross-border e-commerce direct exports increased by 207.8% year-on-year, with more than 200 new cross-border e-commerce enterprises established.
The border city of Hunchun illustrates how Chinese-Russian digital cross-border trade is moving toward a new future, with digital channels becoming bridges that lead people from both countries to a better and happier life.
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