The northeastern city of Harbin has a long history of trade and friendship with Russia. There is developments in trade ties across the two borders.

Harbin once had the largest Russian population of any city outside of Russia, but only a few remained after the Second World War.

The relationship between Russia and China has improved in recent years. Russian investment in Harbin and surrounding areas has been growing steadily as businesses come to cash in on China's booming economy.

Chen Xiaoming, Harbin Resident, said, "Trade goes both ways. A long time back there were many Russians living and working in Harbin; when I was young the streets were full of Russians."

Russia supplies the natural resources that China desperately needs to feed its factories. Russian traders then come to China to buy goods to sell back home.

Tamara Bikova, Restaurant Owners, said, "In China it's much easier to get ahold of the necessary goods for production because they are much cheaper than in Russia,and it is much easier to do everything than in Russia. In Russia it takes more money and time."

Mercantile trade between the neighboring nations has grown steadily in the past decade, reaching 48 billion US dollars last year, which is an almost 5-fold increase from 6 years ago.