Russia’s Far East region can’t afford to spurn Chinese labor and capital

Source:Global Times Published: 2013-3-14 18:08:01

Editor's Note:

Since last September, Chinese immigrants have been forbidden to engage in agricultural work in Amurskaya Oblast of Russian's Far East region and Krasnoyarsk of Siberia. Are there too many Chinese immigrants in Russia? Does Chinese immigration pose a threat to locals? Several experts shared their view at a recent symposium held by the Russian International News Agency.

Cooperation potential

Chen Jiapeng, an associate research fellow at China Population and Development Research Center

Russia's Far East population is less than 7 million. In contrast, the population of Northeast China is about 121 million. But the Far Eastern Federal District is several times larger than Northeast China.

The Far East is well-known for its resources, while China has far more labor than Russia. The development of the Far East Region benefits both sides.

In 2009, the leaders of China and Russia ratified a joint cooperation program, which included lots of projects. But cooperation between the two sides on the development of the Far East still has huge potential, such as in farming and forestry.

Russia is the second largest destination for immigrants after the US. Last year, about 9 million people immigrated to Russia, and 5 million of them were illegal immigrants. Too many illegal immigrants resulted in serious social security issues.

In terms of the fear of China immigrants, it can be solved by the export of organized labor, which is easy to manage. This can also help reduce resistance from local people.

No immigrant threat

Alexander Larin, leading researcher of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

Since China's reform and opening-up, a number of Russians and some Russian media outlets have been hyping the immigrant threat.

But in fact, the number of Chinese immigrants in the Far East is only about 200,000, and most of them are ordinary workers. This is a normal phenomenon, not a threat.

Labor scarcity has been intensified by the departure of Russians from the Far East. During the last two decades, the population of Russians in the Far East has dropped by 25 percent. Russia has plenty of arable land, so why not lease some to Chinese farmers?

On the other hand, China has been wary of Russians' anxiety. The Chinese government repeatedly stated they don't plan to rely on the Far East to solve the issue of surplus labor.

The 2009 agreement was a good start. However, due to domestic reasons such as corruption, the development of the Far East and the implementation of this program have been bogged down.

Russia could create more conveniences for Chinese workers, like allowing them a daily commute across the border rather than forcing them to live in Russia.

The advantages offered by China lie not only in labor, but also capital.

The large-scale development program demands huge amount of investment into infrastructure, energy and transportation projects.



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