China-Russia relations: border province calls for closer economic ties amid US criticism of ‘no-limits’ friendship

Heilongjiang province says cooperation with neighbouring Russia should be accelerated to serve ‘China-Russia strategic coordination’

Xu’s comments follow a warning by Washington of unspecified ‘consequences’ awaiting Beijing for providing material support for Russia

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The top official in Heilongjiang province says China-Russia energy cooperation should be sped up. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:30pm, 22 Mar 2022

China’s northeastern province of Heilongjiang has called for deeper integration with neighbouring Russia, as Beijing comes under growing pressure from the West to distance itself from Moscow over the Ukraine war.

Xu Qin, Communist Party chief of the rust belt province that borders Russia, said the China-Russia east route natural gas pipeline must be secured and construction of new branching lines sped up.

“[We should] deepen practical energy cooperation between China and Russia, speed up the all-round opening up to Russia and make new contributions to ensuring national energy security and serving China-Russia strategic coordination,” Xu said, according to the official Heilongjiang Daily newspaper.

He made the comments on Sunday during a visit to a gas transmission station in Heihe, a provincial city on the border with Russia’s Far East region.

While visiting a land port linking Russia to the city, he urged local officials to “adapt to the new changes in trade between China and Russia”, as part of efforts to turn the city into a gateway for the Far East.

Xu’s comments followed a virtual meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden on Friday, where Washington warned of unspecified “consequences” awaiting Beijing for providing material support for Russia, which has come under heavy sanctions since it invaded Ukraine.

China has tried to walk a fine line by projecting an image of neutrality over Russia’s aggression, despite pressure from Washington and its allies to condemn the invasion, which is a major test for China’s “no-limits” strategic partnership with Russia.