China/Russia: The Cold Boundary

Report: Cornelia Vospernik
Camera: Gernot Kuntze
Producer: Michael Arri
Editing: Got Wanho

Rights: 01/Eigendreh, text End: 6.59

AKM: Music is a Russian pirate copy in MP3.

Name: Vspominjaj Magadan

Publisher: "Disco Club Records”, Moscow

Title and performer (s) for this are apparently not led Cut ...

Text:

off music
10:00:27:00-10:00:32:00
Heihe, China, is only a stone’s throw from Blagoveshchensk in Russia

10:00:32:01-10:00:35:21
But the Amur River is a heavily guarded border.

10:00:35:22-10:00:42:21
In the 1960s the two communist countries came to blows over this border,

10:00:42:22-10:00:51:23
and disagreement continued until the 90s. The border disputes were settled last year, but bad feelings remain

10:00:51:24-10:01:00:22
Especially on the Russian side; this is because Heihe is a gateway for hundreds of thousands of Chinese travelling into Russia’s Far East

10:01:00:23-10:01:07:02
Official figures state that at least one million people speak Chinese here; some Russians believe that there are several million.

10:01:07:03-10:02:17:00

These men come from Shan Dong to await their journey. In Russia they earn twice as much as at home.

10:02:17:01-10:01:27:01
OT Wang Yen Wey, guest workers: (1.18-1.26)
Of course, there are also jobs in China.

10:01:27:02-10:02:32:21
OT Wang Zhong Bao, guest workers: (1.27-1.32)
 We only work there to gain some money.

10:02:32:22-10:02:43:04
Still, people are fearful. Moscow recently halted the building of a bridge over the Amur River- the first pillar stands alone at Heihe.

10:01:43:04-10:01:50:20
Because of this, workers try to cross the river; but if the ice is not thick enough for trucks to cross, everything will have to be transported by hover-craft.

10:01:50:21-10:01:56:14
Many suspect that the blockades are a cheap ploy to improve business for Russian and Chinese carriers.

10:01:56:15-10:02:05:12
Several times a day they carry buyers to Heihe: most are Russian and Chinese guest workers importing Chinese goods to Blagoveshchensk.

10:02:07:13-10:02:19:00
Unlike on the Chinese side of the border, where everything is written in Russian, here there is nothing to signal the way to the market.

10:02:22:03-10:02:40:06

In Blagoveshchensk we can only shoot with a hidden camera. The mood in the so-called Chinese market is not good. Since last year, every Chinese trader here has to employ a Russian co-ordinator; even to have a booth is near impossible for the Chinese traders.

10:02:42:00-10:02:51:00
OT Händlerin (Russian): (2.42-2.51)

Yes, there are so many Chinese here - it is bad. It feels like we’re in China.

10:02:51:01-10:02:57:02
OT dealers (Russian): (2.52-2.56)
I am not afraid of competition, because I sell Russian goods.

10:02:58:00-10:03:05:20
It is safe to assume that most of the goods offered here come from China. Chinese traders believe that the Russian economy is failing, and that Russians need Chinese goods

10:03:05:21-10:03:22:00
OT Mr Lei, dealers (Chinese): (3.09-3.21)
70 percent of the taxes here are paid by our Chinese, the Russians only pay 30 percent. We generate 1000 rubles daily, our Russian colleagues only 300; that’s a big difference.

10:03:22:01-10:03:30:10
Our excursion to the market of Blagoveshchensk has already ended. Our cameras can come out of hiding

10:03:30:11-10:03:43:14
It isn’t only on this side of the border that relations are strained. We travel into North-East China to find out how the Chinese feel about doing business with Russia.

10:03:43:15-10:03:50:14 

If their business relationship continues to flourish, it will soon be socially acceptable for Russian tourists to stay in five star hotels in China. 



10:03:50:15-10:03:54:13 

-- Suifenhe lives by the Russian quarter. 



10:03:54:14-10:03:59:13 

-- Busweise travels from the relatively near Vladivostok for her weekly shopping.

10:04:02:00-10:04:09:20
One Russian trading here is Nadezda. When we ask her why she is buying so many childrens’ clothes she replies  “I’m buying them for an orphanage I help out” but it is likely she is another trader.

10:04:09:21-10:04:19:18
It is difficult to tell where Russian resentment will lead. For many Russians, the Chinese are simply competition, and as a result of this they are currently importing Chinese goods to Russia.

10:04:00:05-10:04:11:08 

’30 kilos of goods per person may be brought into Russia. We are very popular with the Chinese’, says Nadezda. 



10:04:11:10-10:04:47:09 

Nadezda OT, Russian tourist in China (4.29-4.47) 

Of course, we bring them a lot business. Some older Chinese people respect Communism in the Soviet Union, as well as Chinese students who learn Russian. But for everybody else, we are simply a business opportunity that brings in money.

10:04:49:00-10:04:55:08

Though this place is difficult to reach, Nadezda is never alone when trading on the road at night

10:04:55:12-10:05:14:14 

Many Russians in the Chinese city of Suifenhe have been attacked or even killed. This type of violence occurs again and again. The Vice-Mayor blames the attacks on alcohol, and describes the crimes as "normal criminal activity". For Chinese citizens in Russia however, the risks are even higher. [Sang Qing Wen relates: does not fit and is not in German version…]

10:05:15:00-10:05:35:03
OT Sang Qing Wen, Vice-Mayor Suifenhe (5.15-5.34)
There are many more Chinese deaths in Russia than Russian deaths in China. Often, people simply disappear. There are many raids. I was formerly head of a company. Many of my staff were attacked in Russia. It even happened to me once. Robberies and murders are more common against Chinese than against Russians.

10:05:35:00-10:05:48:02
The motivation behind these killings is clear. China needs Russia’s raw materials; Russian timber has to travel all the way to Suifenhe in China.

10:05:48:03-10:05:57:08 

‘The timber business there is firmly in the hands of criminals,’ says a historian from Vladivostok who specializes in the tense relationship between China and Russia:

10:06:00:00-10:06:30:06 

OT Leonid Kozlov, historian (German) (6.00-6.30) 



10:06:30:07-10:06:43:18 

People on both sides of the border have more in common than they think: They are all citizens of giant empires, both centralized, both tightly managed.