Putin personally inquired about Heixiazi Island. China and Russia have signed black and white texts. The Russian government dare not neglect any more this time.
China recently announced that during Putin's visit to China last week, China and Russia signed the "Roadmap for the Implementation of the Joint Protection and Development Plan for Heixiazi Island."
Before this, Putin ordered a task to be completed by the end of 2025, and now the Russian government has finally taken a critical step.
[Putin's emphasis on the development of Heixiazi Island is by no means a momentary thought]
In November last year, Putin personally gave instructions at a government meeting that the Russian federal government should jointly approve the roadmap for cooperation with China on the development of Heixiazi Island and ensure that the plan begins implementation in 2025.
More than 9 months later, China and Russia finally signed the relevant roadmap, and it is only a matter of time before the next step is implemented.
After all, the Kremlin's orders are here, and the Russian government dares not neglect them. Putin asked at the time that the federal government must submit a development report on Heixiazi Island before April 15 this year, and then submit an annual report to Kerry Palace every year.
This institutionalized reporting mechanism is not common within the Russian government, let alone Putin's personal order.
Obviously, Putin hopes to incorporate the development of Heixiazi Island into Russia's long-term strategic goals, rather than a short-term project of "three-minute hotness". In his eyes, Heixiazi Island is not just a problem at the border port, but a key breakthrough point related to the overall development of Russia's Far East.
Putin's emphasis on the development of Heixiazi Island is by no means a temporary idea, and there is a special historical context behind his strategic considerations.
[As we all know, Heixiazi Island belonged to China at the earliest]
Heixiazi Island is located at the intersection of Heilongjiang and Ussuri River, with a very special strategic location. After the border was redefined in 2004, China and Russia each own half of the island.
After splitting into two, the Chinese side quickly launched a large number of infrastructure and ecological protection construction. The Wusu Bridge connecting Heilongjiang Province has been opened to traffic, and the wetland protection park has been established. The island has also been included in the national nature reserve, which has truly achieved both "protection" and "development". Both hands are strong.
On the other hand, the development of Heixiazi Island has been lagging behind for a long time. Apart from sporadic planning and concepts, few projects have been implemented.
If you don’t pay attention to it above, you won’t bother to move below, so you will have to wait for external forces in the end.
Moscow's emphasis on the development of Heixiazi Island, the most obvious turning point occurred after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Faced with Western sanctions and the overall deterioration of relations with Europe, Russia has to accelerate its "look eastward". Far East development is no longer a verbal slogan, but an important task that concerns the resilience and security of the country's economy.
In 2023, China-Russia trade volume exceeded US$240 billion, an increase of more than 26% year-on-year, setting a record high. The surge in trade volume has brought huge challenges to China and Russia's original ports and logistics systems.
The infrastructure construction on China's side is not much, the pressure is mainly on the Russian side: Russia's developed western region, and its infrastructure construction is unsatisfactory, not to mention the relatively underdeveloped Far East.
[The infrastructure construction on China's side needs no need to say much, the pressure is mainly on the Russian side]
In this context, the plan to jointly develop Heixiazi Island and establish a highway port on the island was put on the agenda by the Russian side.
As early as early 2023, Russia sent a signal through its consulate in Harbin, revealing that officials from both China and Russia are discussing the prospects of cooperating in the development of Heixiazi Island.
At almost the same time, Denisov, then Russian Ambassador to China, also spoke out, emphasizing that the establishment of a free trade zone on Heixiazi Island has "broad prospects" and can inject new impetus into the economic and trade relations between the two countries.
Although a series of signs were only at the level of diplomatic rhetoric at that time, it was enough to show that Russia was trying to find a new fulcrum for strengthening cooperation with China through island development.
In the following year, Russia's actions significantly accelerated. In December 2023, Vice Premier Trutnev, in charge of Far East Affairs, visited China and directly proposed to China to establish a border port on Heixiazi Island. China expressed support for this.
After receiving support from China, Trutnev, who is still in China, told the media that he would hand over the proposal to Putin himself and wait for the Kremlin's final decision. The facts also prove that Putin has indeed attached great importance to it, and it is the Russian side that is urgent.
【After splitting into two, the Chinese side quickly launched a large number of infrastructure and ecological protection construction】
Early last year, during his inspection of Khabarovsk (Berli), Putin listened specifically to the report on the city's comprehensive development plan, which clearly mentioned that a new passenger and cargo port would be built on Heixiazi Island.
For a head of state, such local plans can be mentioned before, indicating that what it carries is not a general matter, but a key link in foreign strategy and national development layout.
When Putin visited China four months later, China and Russia specifically mentioned Heixiazi Island in a joint statement and signed the "Heixiazi Island Joint Protection and Development Plan".
In August of the same year, Russian Prime Minister Mishustin visited China. The two sides once again emphasized the importance of developing Heixiazi Island in the joint communiqué and agreed to hold a working group meeting before the end of the year.
The signing of the roadmap is the continuation of this series of diplomatic and government interactions, and it also means that the consensus on paper has truly become a project that can be implemented. It can be said that the process of joint development of Heixiazi Island has officially entered the "fast lane".
For Russia, this is an opportunity to activate the Far East with the help of China's "live water"; for China, this is also a strategic choice to stabilize the surrounding areas and expand cooperation space in a complex international environment. It can be said that the future of Heixiazi Island reflects the general trend of China-Russia relations.
