Bikers from China and Russia attend the opening ceremony of the China-Russia "Road of Friendship" motorcycle ride at the Russian Embassy in Beijing on Saturday. The 9,000-kilometer ride, which started in Beijing on Saturday and ends in Moscow in June, celebrates the 70th anniversary of China-Russia diplomatic relations. Photo: Wang Bozun/GT

China and Russia could move to set up a global financial center on an island on their joint border, which might focus on, among other exchanges, cryptocurrency trading, as the two neighbors continue to strengthen economic and trade ties amid rising US aggression, according to media reports and analysts.

A financial center on Heixiazi Island (known as Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island in Russia) could help the two countries to better counter pressure from the US, which has been using its currency hegemony to pummel others, Chinese analysts said on Monday. But there will also be plenty of challenges in establishing a world-class financial center there, they noted. At the just-concluded St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Saturday, Leonid Petukhov, the head of Russia's Agency of the Far East for Investments and Exports (IPA), proposed the establishment of a joint financial center on the island, according to TASS Russian News Agency. Petukhov said that the financial center could focus on cryptocurrency and other trading, according to a translation of the Russian-language TASS report. He noted that the location of the center will be very convenient because the island belongs to the two countries.

So far, Chinese officials have not disclosed any such plan. The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, did not respond to faxed questions as of press time on Monday.

However, Petukhov's comment came as the two neighbors continued to improve bilateral ties. 

During a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia last week, the two countries agreed to upgrade their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era and to further promote economic and trade cooperation, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

"China and Russia have had a close relationship for a long time and have been cooperating in various areas," Liu Shengjun, head of the China Financial Reform Institute in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Monday, adding that financial cooperation, as an important factor for economic stability, is also an area that needs to be enhanced.

The global economy is facing great downward pressure amid the escalating China-US trade war, and the US continues to suppress other countries by using its dollar hegemony. Hence, the strengthening of financial cooperation between China and Russia is correspondingly an important measure to deal with international financial risks, Liu said.

However, analysts pointed to some challenges coming in the way of cultivating a new financial center, including downward pressure in both the Chinese and Russian economies.

"Financial centers rely on strong economies and active trading activities, while both China and Russia have been facing slowing economic growth in recent years," Tan Yaling, head of the China Forex Investment Research Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.

In addition, both the Russian ruble and Chinese yuan need to be further strengthened in the global financial market to assume roles as international clearing currencies, Tan said.

Moreover, cryptocurrency trading is still at an immature stage without recognized international standards, and many countries are cautious about the sector, Tan noted.