There is a city that maintains much of Russia’s economy in times of war. And it is on the Chinese border

On the Manzhouli map is a small point north of Mongolia inner, a city with a population similar to Las Palmas and one picturesque square full of replicas of Russian monuments and Matrioskas giants, including a 30 m high that works as a hotel. That is at least what is seen with the naked eye. In Manzhouli practice it is much more: an important Logistics node located right on the border between China and Russia that has gained weight as Moscow’s economy was distanced from the West and narrowed his links with Beijing.

So much so that There are those who point since Manzhouli is playing a fundamental role to keep the Russian economy afloat in times of war.

In a place in northern China … Manzhouli is far from being the most populous, dynamic or busy city in China, but over the last months has caught the attention of several analysts. He traveled recently Lisa Visentin, correspondent for The Sydney Morning Post. And there has moved now Keith Bradsher, head of the office of The New York Times In Beijing.

What is special for this sub -prefecture of Mongola in the interior of just 382,000 inhabitants and a picturesque Russian -inspired theme park full of buildings topped in domes similar to those that can be seen in Moscow and Matrioskas Xl? The answer is simple: Manzhouli is on the border between China and Russia and has managed to carve a key role in the relationship between the two countries at a strategic moment, with the Russian economy marked by the severe sanctions With which the West responded to the War of Ukraine, more than three years ago.

At the right time and place. In a wide analysis Posted this week in TnytBradsher points out that today much of the commercial flow between Beijing and Moscow is channeled through Manzhouli, something that is possible thanks in part to its roads and the railway line built at the beginning of the last century by Russia and that passes through the city towards northwest China.

Today, trains and trucks traveling from Russia are carried out by the town loaded with wood, planks and other materials that help Beijing avoid imports from North America. From the Chinese town there are also a large number of vehicles destination Russia, where the market suffers the consequences of the sanctions and The withdrawal of European manufacturers.

A fact: 65%. As a reference and to understand the economic weight of Manzhouli, in 2022 Global Times (GT)a medium linked to the Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, I calculated that the sight border land port moved up to 65% of all bilateral terrestrial trade between China and Russia. In fact, when many years ago Manzhouli suspended the customs office for weeks to meet the “anti covid-19” measures, a local businessman lamented in GT of losses that amounted to hundreds of thousands of daily yuan.

How is it possible? For several factors, although there are two that stand out: their location and infrastructure. Manzhouli is The main one China shopping center with Russia just like Erenhot It is between China and Mongolia. In fact, the city is ceasing to be a “traffic station” of merchandise to become an industrial center. Over there It is processed For example, roller or wood.

“Trains from all about China arrive in Manzhouli, one of the six railway ports through which Chinese-Europa trains pass before addressing Russia or other countries in Europe,” collected in 2023 Global Times. “The trains from Europe that go through Russia enter China through Manzhouli before addressing other cities in the country.” During the first quarter the flow of China’s load trains with the continent registered a 7.1% growth In the land port.

It matters where … and when. The role of Manzhiuli is today more important because they are also the economic ties between Beijing and Moscow. In 2024 the combined imports and exports of China with Russia added nearby 240,000 million of euros, a historical maximum. The data is also 2% greater than that of 2023, although that increase is far from the 26.3% registered between 2022 and 2023, coinciding with the beginning of the Ukraine War.

Bradsher points out that today almost 6% of the Russian economy is based on exports to China and that the flow of merchandise that comes out of China heading to the north It has triggered 71% Since the Kremlin troops advanced on Ukraine. Beijing has become the largest buyer of oil, wood and coal from Russia and in Manzhouli a relationship in which Moscow provides raw materials for the powerful Chinese manufacturing is evident.

A perfect relationship? No. Despite this narrow link and that entrepreneurs in the region have managed to make fun of the use of dollars in transactions with Russia (Tnyt speaks With an Entrepreneur from the Manzhouli area that pays Russian wood in Chinese renminbi or rubles through the VTB bank), in the economic relationship between the two countries there are also friction.

Moscow forces for example that the carved pines become tables in their own territory and months ago China applied Russian coal tariffs to boost their own production. After the success of Chinese cars in the Russian market, Moscow also chose a considerable rate to imported cars.

Images | Wikipedia 1 and 2

Via | Tnyt

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