The first railway bridge connecting China and Russia is ready to undergo its first test run, like the neighbors, both under pressure from the West, speed up efforts to promote commerce.
Project manager Lin Yonghan said the 2.2km (1.4-mile) bridge would connect the nations across the Heilong River, also known as the Amur in Russia, and the testing will take place from August 26 to 28. The Sino-Russian Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoye railway bridge is nearly complete and will soon be ready to open for business, with the first test train anticipated to cross the border.
Railway bridge will connect China and Russia
The bridge will serve as a vital piece of infrastructure for boosting trade between China and Russia. Russian iron ore headed for China will make up the majority of the cargo traveling over the bridge. The railway bridge has a dual-track system, which allows trains to run on both the Russian gauge at 1,520 millimeters and the Chinese gauge at 1,435 millimeters, without the need to change wheels on the bridge.
Russian trains will be able to run for about 15 kilometers until they reach a depot where their cargo will be shifted to Chinese trains, Lin said. The bridge will open to traffic in 2021, citing a senior executive with Russian Railways, Russia's state-owned railway operator. According to reports, the bridge will be completely operational in 2022.
Iron ore would be the major commodity moved across the bridge, which has a design freight capacity of 21 million tons per year. The project is one of China, Russia, and Mongolia's key railway lines being developed to increase cross-border infrastructural connections.
The bridge, which would cost US $355 million to build and will be divided between the two sides, was first proposed in 2007. Work on the project began in 2014 in Tongjiang, Heilongjiang Province, China, and was finished last month after many delays. It runs to Nizhneleninskoye in Russia's Far East, crossing the river.
Despite sharing a 4,000-kilometer border - one of the world's longest - China and Russia only have two major railway crossings. Improving cross-border infrastructure has been high on Chinese President Xi Jinping's and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin's agendas, with both calling for deeper commercial links as part of attempts to offset Western economic pressure, as per South China Morning Post.
Growing ties between two nations amid mounting pressure from the West
In response to growing Western pressure, Russia and China have recently held joint military drills as a show of cooperation. The drills in northern China involved an estimated 13,000 troops from the People's Liberation Army and the Russian Army.
The military drills underscore the growing relations between Beijing and Moscow, with Russian media emphasizing that their goal is to counter mounting pressure from the West. They also come as both nations join Western and other international powers in seeking to maintain security in Afghanistan as US-led forces withdraw and the Taliban continue to expand their territory.
Russian soldiers were seen firing from Chinese wheeled tanks and other armored vehicles, according to footage. The Chinese-Russian war games are intended to strengthen cooperative anti-terrorism operations between the Chinese and Russian military, as well as display the two countries' firm will and strength to jointly preserve international and regional security and stability.
They demonstrate a new level of cooperation for a new age in the China-Russia comprehensive strategic relationship, as well as strategic confidence, pragmatic interactions, and coordination between the two nations. More military drills involving the armies of the two countries are likely, Daily Mail reported.
Joint military drills come amid Taliban onslaught
This week, a large-scale cooperative counter-terrorism drill in northwest China underscored Beijing and Moscow's shared worry about bloodshed spilling over from Afghanistan. Experts argue that the possibility of extremist organizations acquiring a stronghold on their doorsteps is pushing China and Russia closer together, despite their economic rivalry in Central Asia.
Per NIKKEI, some believe that a security crisis in Central Asia may drive combined military action while others believe that such cooperation would rapidly devolve into rivalry. Chinese and Russian forces are practicing firing tens of thousands of artillery shells at enemy targets, sending a fighter jet squadron on a combined bombing mission, and conducting a ground assault against hostile positions as part of the exercise.
The drills take place amid a Taliban onslaught in northern Afghanistan, in which the organization has taken control of at least nine provincial capitals in the last week. Since the United States began withdrawing its soldiers from Afghanistan in May, the Taliban have achieved major territorial gains.
Beijing and Moscow are concerned that the unrest may spread to neighboring Central Asian nations. This week, Russia has also been conducting joint drills with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan near the Tajik-Afghan border, adding to the rising sense of concern.
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