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  • 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,560 Russia and China.

  • Two major powers that are being drawn closer

  • by the Belt and Road Initiative.

  • I will explore the spectacular wealth

  • that's been created at the border of these two countries.

  • I'll uncover the history of Russians in China.

  • And I'll meet the latest Friendship Ambassadors of the Belt and Road.

  • A Belt and Road Initiative linking China and Russia

  • has sparked celebration and concern.

  • Rival powers, Russia and China...

  • Russia and with China...

  • Russia or China...

  • In my journey along the road to Russia,

  • I will visit China's border cities with Russia.

  • This entire city is lit in gold.

  • I will discover the splendours of Mongolia with its untapped riches,

  • -It's like a house on wheels! -Yes.

  • mysterious Uzbekistan through its stunning cities,

  • and I will explore the Kremlin and the power it wields.

  • This is my journey through one of China's key economic corridors

  • on its Belt and Road.

  • In the last year, much of the focus on international relations worldwide

  • has been on a US-China trade war.

  • One upshot from that is renewed attention on one of the world's oldest

  • and most chequered bilateral relationships.

  • I've been researching Sino-Russian relations,

  • and I've become convinced that it is an important relationship to watch.

  • The two countries' increasing alliance

  • is making American and some European leaders uncomfortable.

  • But is a China-Russia partnership so terrifying to begin with?

  • Where do we begin unpacking this bilateral relationship

  • that has more layers than a Russian doll?

  • Well, here's a good place to start,

  • the world's largest Matryoshka Doll Square,

  • replete with domes, dolls, and other designer kitsch.

  • This is a “Disney-fiedRussia.

  • This is Manzhouli, in Northeast China.

  • A border zone where Russia, Mongolia and China meet.

  • What's so amazing about this place

  • is how China so openly advertises its Russian links.

  • China has many friends,

  • but I haven't seen the Chinese government

  • building a Pakistan town or an Italian town

  • to celebrate its bilateral relations.

  • This place is absolutely one of a kind,

  • and a testament to Chinese-Russian ties.

  • The Doll Square is empty because it's freezing winter.

  • But make no mistake, Manzhouli is a busy town.

  • It's China's busiest land port,

  • and it is the main rail gateway to Russia.

  • 65% of all import-export trade runs along these tracks.

  • And these tracks are now busier than ever.

  • Trade between Russia and China soared by nearly 25% in 2018,

  • reaching a record turnover of US$108 billion.

  • Manzhouli is also a special cross-border trade zone,

  • and has all sorts of facilities for logistics, customs, processing,

  • exhibition, trading, supply chain finance, and so on.

  • This is the Russian-China trade hub.

  • But Manzhouli's relationship with Russia isn't all about dollars and cents.

  • It's also about friendship and goodwill

  • between neighbouring cities and states.

  • And Manzhouli has come up with new ways to promote those friendships.

  • The pageant has a strategic objective.

  • It's to promote China's friendship with Russia,

  • and shared neighbour, Mongolia.

  • The China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor

  • is one of six major corridors on the Belt and Road masterplan.

  • Ma Ying Zhe is one of the men in charge of organising

  • this cross-border extravaganza.

  • So what does this beauty pageant have to do with the Belt and Road Initiative?

  • Who are the organisers?

  • The charm offensive is effective.

  • The event is covered by more than a hundred media outlets

  • in the three countries.

  • How do you not win hearts and minds with this?

  • These girls are walking around in so little clothing

  • in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius.

  • I couldn't do it.

  • This must be the toughest weather conditions

  • any beauty pageant participant has to endure, anywhere in the world!

  • Russian-China relations are all smiles now, mostly.

  • But there was a time when relations weren't so rosy.

  • In the early 1950s,

  • Russian and Chinese leaders dreamed of fashioning a world of Communism.

  • But by the late 60s,

  • the two Communist giants had entered into such a fierce battle for supremacy

  • that they became bitter enemies.

  • They even threatened to use nuclear weapons on each other.

  • Thousands of Muscovites demonstrate outside the Chinese embassy in Moscow.

  • The confrontation across the Ussuri River

  • at the Far Eastern frontier between the two countries

  • has provoked a king-sized outburst of propaganda from both sides.

  • The Russians claim that over 40 of their border guards have lost their lives.

  • The most serious development has been the Russian threat

  • to escalate the whole thing into a full scale conflict,

  • to initiate an offensive with nuclear weapons.

  • With the breakup of the Soviet Union,

  • the border dispute was also scaled down.

  • In 1991,

  • the two countries signed a pact demarcating their borders.

  • And today,

  • all bitterness from the past is hardly ever discussed.

  • Nowadays, the dialogue revolves around excellent bilateral relations.

  • In 2017,

  • Putin presented Xi with Russia's highest state award.

  • In 2018,

  • Xi handed Putin a large, goldenMedal of Friendship”,

  • declaring the Russian leader hisbest, most intimate friend”.

  • The two leaders have met over 30 times since 2013.

  • In addition to excellent trade ties,

  • China and Russia support each other on a wide variety of foreign policy issues,

  • including the Venezuela crisis,

  • North Korea's nuclear programme, and the Iran nuclear deal.

  • Whatever the strategic reasons may be for the blossoming friendship,

  • it has made Manzhouli a boom town.

  • With serious investment pouring into the Wild West frontier town

  • of the Chinese border,

  • Sino-Russian trade is taking off.

  • And I'm off to meet a tycoon raking it in from the Sino-Russian trade.

  • You might find it surprising

  • but this is one of the biggest and most profitable businesses in Manzhouli.

  • Russia and China trade in many things,

  • oil, timber, electronics, you name it.

  • But it's humble vegetables that are moving fastest.

  • The reason has to do with politics.

  • In 2014, Russia cut ties with its fruits and vegetable suppliers

  • from the European Union and US.

  • A retaliation against sanctions over the Ukraine issue.

  • Russia has to buy its fruits and vegetables elsewhere.

  • That was when Putin turned to his old comrade in China.

  • This is probably the most vegetables I've seen in my life.

  • All of this is being sent to the Russian city of Irkutsk,

  • 1,500 kilometres away.

  • Four years ago, this journey would have taken seven days on the road.

  • But today, that travel time has been cut in half

  • because of all the new roads that have been built

  • due to the Belt and Road Initiative.

  • Chinese vegetables are moving faster than ever.

  • According to Russian government statistics,

  • Russia buys US$1 billion worth of vegetables,

  • and US$300 million worth of citrus fruits from China annually.

  • This company alone, Sen Fu Logistics,

  • exports US$50 million worth of fruits and vegetables

  • to Russia a year.

  • In 2018, their export volume to Russia grew 13%,

  • compared to the previous year.

  • Meng Lin is the woman in charge.

  • She moved to Manzhouli 25 years ago,

  • and Meng Lin has done very well.

  • There are a lot of awards here, congratulations.

  • Earlier today, I was able to check out your company,

  • and I have to say the place looked very busy.

  • Can you tell me a little bit about the history of your business?

  • Sure, thank you.

  • You were 21 years old when you first came to Manzhouli.

  • What was it that brought you here?

  • 25 years. Time flies.

  • What was Manzhouli like back then?

  • And it's all thanks to Russia-China ties?

  • We hear a lot about the Belt and Road Initiative.

  • How has it impacted your business?

  • Mangoes, once an exotic rarity across the border,

  • can now be bought in Russian supermarkets,

  • even in Siberia.

  • These foreign fruits are now much more accessible

  • thanks to the new trade links.

  • Just another example of how China's Silk Road

  • is changing the world.

  • To your successful partnership with Russia.

  • -Thank you... -You're welcome.

  • This is the boom town that is Manzhouli.

  • A Chinese city with an obvious Russian feel to it,

  • everywhere you turn.

  • There's a good reason why.

  • Manzhouli is the poster city for exciting developments in Sino-Russian trade.

  • The thriving tempo of cross-border trade is best felt here,

  • at the Manzhouli Trade Centre.

  • It's the city's official cross-border trade zone.

  • It's not even 9am,

  • and already, a long queue has formed outside.

  • They're here for one thing mainly.

  • Wheat flour.

  • Bags and bags of the stuff fly off the shelves here,

  • bound for shops and restaurants across the city.

  • It's a flour frenzy.

  • Driven not by traders, but by very entrepreneurial townsfolk.

  • This morning, there was a long line of people waiting to get in here.

  • Can you tell me what that was about?

  • This happens on a daily basis?

  • Bread is a must-have in this part of China.

  • Flour may be the star product.

  • But there's also trade in candies,

  • chocolates, honey,

  • skincare, cooking oil,

  • and all kinds of Russian products imaginable.

  • The Manzhouli Trade Centre isn't just any other Russian departmental store.

  • For the local government,

  • it's a shining example of how both sides of the border

  • have plenty to gain from the Belt and Road Initiative.

  • This trade zone is an example of some of the unique businesses

  • that have come up on the New Silk Road.

  • Manzhouli has a special role

  • on China's Belt and Road global economic masterplan.

  • And here's why.

  • China has identified six economic corridors on the Belt and Road Initiative.

  • The China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor

  • is one of these six corridors.

  • And one that is accelerating particularly quickly.

  • The road and rail connections between the two countries are especially timely,

  • given China's less than rosy trade ties with the United States currently.

  • But border towns like Manzhouli are richer for it, not just from trade.

  • Look at what it has done to the city's nightlife.

  • There are many Russian restaurants in Manzhouli.

  • Let's go check this one out.

  • -Hello. -Hi!

  • Thank you.

  • Oh my goodness. Look at that bear!

  • Kristina is the maître d' of the Lubulin,

  • a dive that's popular among out-of-towners.

  • The food is just part of the attraction.

  • For many Chinese visiting the city,

  • this could be their first taste of Russian culture.

  • This is quite the grand room you've prepared for us.

  • I feel like a king in here.

  • Thank you so much.

  • Your Mandarin is quite good.

  • What made you want to study Chinese?

  • Do you have many friends from Russia who want to work here?

  • Is the salary higher here, compared to Russia?

  • Do you have many Russians applying to work at your restaurant?

  • What's the process of hiring a Russian?

  • How things have changed.

  • Thirty years ago, people on this side of the border wanted to go West.

  • Now, Russians are wanting to come East.

  • It really shows how far China has come.

  • My trip in Manzhouli is coming to an end,

  • but there's a lot more to discover about Sino-Russian relations.

  • And for that, I will be headed to Harbin,

  • the music city of China.

  • This is Harbin.

  • A city with deep-rooted Russian connections.

  • At Harbin's main street, the city's Russian flavour is hard to miss.

  • Walking along this street,

  • you'll find dozens of Russian souvenir shops and restaurants.

  • Like this Russian restaurant right here, famous for its bread.

  • Look at all these people queueing up.

  • This is the only place in China

  • that I've ever seen people in line for bread.

  • And no, it's not some new hipster fad.

  • Families in Harbin have been bread eaters for more than a hundred years.

  • Russian flavour extends to the city's urban landscape.

  • Stunning examples of Art Deco and Neo-Renaissance architecture,

  • from the 1920s and 1930s,

  • line the main street.

  • Why do we see so much Russian and European influence here in Harbin?

  • Interesting.

  • The old name for Harbin is Manchuria,

  • a city steeped in history.

  • It had been governed by three different powers,

  • the Russians, the Japanese, and the Chinese.

  • At the turn of the 19th century, it was an industrial powerhouse,

  • with a thriving economy which funded these spectacular buildings.

  • This church is magnificent!

  • Can you tell me how old it is?

  • Harbin was an expat paradise,

  • with people from over 50 different nationalities,

  • who formed 60% of the city's population.

  • The city museum has recreated visuals

  • of what the city looked like at the time,

  • and boy, it looks nothing like China.

  • In the 1910s and 20s,

  • Harbin hosted the largest Russian population outside of the state of Russia.

  • Their influence on the Chinese people remain till this day.

  • The Russians left much more than bread, ballet, and buildings behind.

  • Harbin also inherited a major manufacturing base,

  • which was built by the Russians.

  • The Russians and Chinese draw on the legacy of that long friendship.

  • They work together in furthering many mutual goals,

  • like in education and science.

  • This is the Heilongjiang Institute of High Tech Research.

  • Here, Russian and Chinese scientists work together

  • on a thermal engineering project.

  • A translator aids communication.

  • But language is hardly a barrier when causes are aligned.

  • For the Russians, unlike many of their western counterparts,

  • there's none of that paranoia associated with Chinese tech research.

  • There's even a bilateral plan for Russia and China

  • to jointly develop their Artificial Intelligence capabilities.

  • This partnership has grown,

  • and it's grown far beyond industrial cooperation.

  • There's an extensive infrastructure designed to foster cooperation

  • up and down the line.

  • From summits at the very top,

  • to commissions between governments,

  • and down to networks closer to people's hearts and minds, in education.

  • Nowadays, every Russian university or research centre,

  • in every region and city, has a sister institute in China.

  • Neither Russia nor China has a similar arrangement

  • with any other country in the world.

  • I'm here today to meet some students

  • who have benefitted from these excellent bilateral ties.

  • Hi, guys!

  • -Hi! -How're you doing?

  • All my new Russian friends are here

  • on some form of Chinese government scholarship.

  • Adele, why did you choose to come study here in China?

  • Interesting question.

  • It's because my bachelor degree was related to Chinese languages.

  • I chose China because China gave us scholarships,

  • and because many Russian and Chinese companies...

  • have business ties,

  • they trade with one another.

  • Is studying Chinese popular among your friends back in Russia?

  • It's very popular.

  • Nowadays, the relationship between Russia and China is very good

  • and it's getting better and better,

  • so many Russian people...

  • don't just study English.

  • We also start to study Chinese in school.

  • Many Russians go to China nowadays

  • to get their bachelor's degree or master's degree.

  • It's also easier for us to get Chinese scholarships

  • rather than, for example, American scholarships

  • or scholarships from European countries.

  • Max, what has your experience been like, here in China?

  • Every foreigner who comes to China,

  • in the course of this journey,

  • will recognise that there's a lot of culture shock,

  • such as the style of communication being different

  • from that in other countries,

  • the language issue,

  • and relationships between people,

  • or guan xi, as we say here in China.

  • But I think it's a good choice.

  • And what are your plans after you graduate?

  • I really want to go to Shanghai

  • because I have been there six times

  • and I really love that city.

  • What about the rest of you?

  • Are your long-term plans to remain here in China?

  • -Yes, definitely. -Yes.

  • Thank you very much.

  • -All right, we got our local eats here. -Yes.

  • I'm excited about this.

  • I have to say this is definitely a happening spot.

  • Do you have anything like this in Russia?

  • No, honestly, we don't have this in Russia.

  • When I came to China for the first time and I saw a night market, I thought,

  • China is very interesting at night.”

  • You can buy anything here.

  • Since I'm a student, I don't have a lot of money,

  • so it is very good for me to come here for food,

  • to buy clothes or anything I want.

  • This is really cool and very interesting.

  • Since you are a student, you should be the one to eat it.

  • Okay, thank you!

  • All of you mentioned earlier that you want to live and work in China,

  • and do business here.

  • I'm curious to know, what is it like to do business in China

  • in comparison to what it might be like in Russia?

  • I have to ask the mandatory Belt Road Initiative question.

  • -Maybe I will ask you then, Max? -All right.

  • Do you feel that your future opportunities

  • are directly linked to the success of the Belt Road Initiative?

  • I think that with the rapid development of the world economy

  • and international trade,

  • One Belt One Road is going to help all the small businesses and small companies.

  • It will give these companies good economic opportunities.

  • I think it's a good thing for all foreigners who live in China right now.

  • Sounds like everyone feels it's a very favourable thing.

  • -Yes. -Yes, of course.

  • -All right, enjoy your sausages. -Thank you...

  • My journey on China's New Silk road has brought me to Harbin,

  • the music city.

  • The title is an official one,

  • conferred by the United Nations in 2010, no less.

  • It's also a title Harbin truly deserves.

  • The locals are die-hard fans of Russian classical music,

  • and the love affair goes way back.

  • Around the 1900s,

  • Harbin was nicknamed the St. Petersburg of the East.

  • It was home to a rich cultural scene,

  • including China's first symphony orchestra,

  • made up of mostly Russian musicians.

  • Harbin had as many as 30 music schools,

  • where many prominent international musicians trained.

  • The foreigners left during the second world war,

  • but the Chinese, who remained,

  • certainly didn't let the music fade out.

  • In 2016,

  • Harbin unveiled its tribute to its pedigreed musical heritage.

  • An opera house.

  • It cost US$560 million.

  • For a city so passionate about the arts,

  • they consider it money well spent.

  • The opera house isn't Harbin's only big ticket investment in the arts.

  • This is its other,

  • a conservatory built in the Neoclassical style,

  • costing a cool US$116 million.

  • Isn't this place spectacular?

  • I feel like I'm in a Russian palace.

  • Inside, you'll find the softer aspect of the Belt and Road Initiative,

  • what China likes to callpeople-to-people bonds”.

  • For most classes in this conservatory,

  • the teacher-student ratio is one to one.

  • Nice...!

  • I thought it was nice, but you thought it was so-so?

  • There is always something to improve.

  • That's the process for life.

  • This school opened in 2016

  • under the banner of the Belt and Road Initiative.

  • The St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music is the school's official partner,

  • and so, Russian teachers are aplenty.

  • The same, and here, make it...

  • Why did you choose to move to Harbin?

  • Somebody called me and asked,

  • "Do you want to go to China?"

  • Where? Harbin.

  • I opened up a map, and I thought,

  • "Yes, why not?"

  • Also, Harbin is really connected to Russian history.

  • Of course, after the revolution in 1917,

  • many Russians moved to Harbin.

  • So I saw Russian movies about Harbin.

  • And of course, it's a good challenge.

  • Any thoughts on the Belt and Road Initiative?

  • I think it's a good initiative

  • because right now,

  • with the globalisation process,

  • every country has to communicate with others,

  • and this is a way to help each other.

  • For example, China right now

  • can help Russia with technological processes.

  • We can help China with...

  • musical ideas,

  • especially since many Chinese students do go to Russia.

  • They study in Russia,

  • they pick up Russian musical ideas

  • a Russian musical soul,

  • and then they return to China.

  • Harbin owes its music city roots to its cosmopolitan origins.

  • Something that wouldn't have happened without the railway.

  • In 1898,

  • Harbin was the administrative hub for the China Eastern Railway

  • which connected Moscow, China and Vladivostok.

  • In a way, the China Eastern Railway was a precursor

  • to the Belt and Road Initiative.

  • Harbin was once a small village until the building of the railway,

  • when it became an international city.

  • This railway museum here shows the history.

  • This is what Harbin looked like in the early 1900s.

  • Wars were fought over this railway and control of Harbin.

  • The Russians who controlled it lost it to the Japanese in 1935.

  • The Chinese later took it back,

  • and today, Harbin is a main port-of-call

  • along the Trans-Siberian Railway

  • linking Beijing to Moscow.

  • With the Belt and Road Initiative,

  • there are even bigger plans to link Harbin

  • to Central Asia and Russia.

  • Just like how the old railway turned Harbin into a cosmopolitan city,

  • the new railway is expected to bring equally monumental changes

  • to wherever its tracks run,

  • crossing exciting new frontiers

  • and creating new opportunities for development.

  • Over the next few instalments in this series,

  • I will be visiting other major points on the Belt and Road

  • connecting China to Russia.

  • In Mongolia,

  • the Belt and Road is facilitating a resource boom in the country.

  • But Mongolians are seriously concerned

  • about the impact of the New Silk Road on the environment,

  • and on the ancient traditions of its people.

  • In Uzbekistan, another key node on the China-Russia economic corridor.

  • The ancient Silk Road cities are undergoing a revival,

  • as new plans are unveiled

  • to plug them into the modern Silk Road highway.

  • And my final destination in the weeks ahead is Russia.

  • With political problems mounting between Russia and the US,

  • and China and the US,

  • the Kremlin and Beijing are drawing closer,

  • with important consequences for the global geopolitical order.

  • My stay in China's border cities

  • has shown me that the Chinese-Russian relationship runs deep.

  • Whether it's in history and culture,

  • or science, technology and education,

  • this relationship will have a huge impact on the countries between here and Russia.

  • And I will be visiting those countries in Mongolia and Central Asia

  • in the weeks ahead.

  • Should the world fear a Russian-China collusion,

  • or should it welcome a Russian-China alliance?

  • Whatever your views are on this,

  • there is no question that the two powers are drawing closer,

  • bound by new roads, bridges and railways

  • on a new Silk Road that will soon reach the heart of the Kremlin.

00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,560 Russia and China.

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