Title - Russia, China to build $275mn joint railway

Russia and China have agreed to build a joint railway crossing worth $275 million on the border over the Amur River.
This was announced at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).The construction of a railroad bridge to connect the village of Nizhneleninskoye in Russia and the town of Tongjiang in China may be launched as early as this year.The 2.2 km long railway bridge will be used to transport iron ore, coal, chemical fertilizers, and wood from Russia to China.The decision to build the railroad comes as Russia pivots eastward and tries to increase its trade with Asia.“Russia certainly is eager to find ways to participate in the economic growth of the region, and there are several ways in which you can try to do this. The share of Russia’s trade with Asia is growing although slowly. Today it accounts for 25 per cent of the total, four years ago – 21 per cent,” Yermolai Solzhenitsyn, director of McKinsey & Company, Russia told The BRICS Post at SPIEF.He also added that there are two elements to achieve the goal, and one of them is regional and cross-border economic activity.“For example today we have the governor of Primorsky krai talking about how Vladivostok economy is growing a lot because of its proximity with China and within a one hour flight from Vladivostok there are 400 million people – no other Russian city has that. So there is local growth,” Solzhenitsyn said.