Another Sino-Russian border point may get 24-hour of customs duty
The Sino-Russian Suifenhe border crossing inear Vladivostok may usher in a 24-hour customs clearance. This was recently discussed by the authorities of Suifenhe and the Russian counterpart Primorsky Krai, with the intention to further facilitate trade between the two countries.
The 24-hour customs clearance at the popular border crossing between the countries is all but certain, as no specific agreements were made, our sister publication RailFreight.cn reports. However, there are some positive signals now that it has been discussed.
Why 24 hours?
Suifenhe would not be the first border point between the countries with a 24-hour customs clearance. On 1 September 2022, the Sino-Russian border city of Hunchun started doing customs round the clock. Prior to this, the border port in Manzhouli remained the only port in the country that implemented 24-hour customs clearance for many years.
Will the shipping capacity be doubled after 24-hours of customs clearance? It is not that straightforward, says Fang Hongming, general manager of Gansu International Logistics Company. “It may not be doubled, but the customs clearance and transportation efficiency of international freight trains will be greatly improved. At the same time, more train platform companies will choose Suifenhe Port as their entry and exit point. It is also good for the development of the local economy.”
4 Sino-Russian border points
So far, there are four railway ports on the Sino-Russian border, namely Manzhouli, Huichun, Suifenhe and the Tongjiang port that opened in November last year.
With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the trade volumew between Russia and China began to rise rapidly, and the requirements for infrastructure are posing new challenges. The opening of the Tongjiang Port may relieve some of the current traffic, but this is not enough. Russia has also proposed a number of plans for the expansion and construction of stations. In addition to the modernization of the Manzhouli-Baikalsk port proposed in September last year , Russian Railways also proposed four new Sino-Russian borders in December last year.
