Walking along the Belt and Road Avenue ｜ A two-way trip across 9000 kilometers

　　The machine roared, sweet and fragrant, and the rich chocolate aroma filled the workshop. On the production line of Russian Red October Candy Experimental Factory, workers are busy packing the newly-released "Ailianqiao". With the wings of "Silk Road E-commerce", they set out to "fly" to consumers in China.

　　At the same time, a China-Europe train loaded with goods has left Mafang Station in Pinggu, Beijing, and will leave the Manzhouli Railway Port, passing through Chita, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg, and after about 9,000 kilometers, it will reach its destination in Moscow.

　　China-Europe train, start a two-way trip.

　　As each other’s largest neighbors and major emerging market countries, the "One Belt, One Road" jointly built by China and Russia has changed to high-quality development, from "hard connectivity" in infrastructure to "soft connectivity" in rules and standards to "heart connectivity" in people-to-people exchanges. Pragmatic cooperation has been deepened and implemented, and a fine and delicate "meticulous painting" has been jointly drawn. The all-media reporting team of People’s Daily Online’s "One Belt, One Road" walked into Russia to explore the stories of shared development and common people’s hearts between China and Russia.

　You Liya savina, deputy director of the Russian United Candy Group Museum, shows Ailianqiao chocolate. People’s Daily reporter Ma Tianyi photo

　　“‘ Big-headed doll ’ Chocolate has become a new online celebrity. "

　　A chubby, red face, wrapped in a colorful headscarf, is lovable.

　　This Russian Ailianqiao chocolate, affectionately called "Big Head Doll" by netizens because of its distinctive packaging design style, is well received by consumers in China and can be bought in many supermarkets in China.

　　A few days ago, the reporter came to the origin of Ailianqiao chocolate — — Red October candy experimental factory. This factory, which was founded in the 1950s, is an out-and-out century-old brand, and now it belongs to United Candy Group of Russia.

　　"For us, the China market has broad prospects for development." Nikolai Vasyukov, deputy general manager of Russian United Candy Group, told reporters that the company exported chocolate, bread rolls and biscuits to China. Among them, Ailianqiao series products have the largest share. In the first five months of this year, the sales of this series of products in China increased by 15% compared with 2022.

　　Chocolate production workshop of Red October Candy Experimental Factory. People’s Daily reporter Shen Yaxin photo

　　With the east wind of the Belt and Road Initiative, Ailianqiao not only participated in the China International Import Expo(CIIE) held in Shanghai year after year, but also actively explored e-commerce channels. Nowadays, domestic consumers can receive chocolate from Russia within two or three days when placing an order on the e-commerce platform.

　　You Liya savina, deputy director of the Russian United Candy Group Museum, told the reporter, "In order to better meet the taste of Chinese, the factory has specially developed a production line, designed Chinese packaging and launched customized products suitable for China consumers."

　　Today, China is one of the main export markets of Russian chocolate. Many Russian products have entered China and are well received by consumers in China. This is inseparable from the close communication between the policies of both sides.

　　In May 2015, the heads of state of China and Russia jointly signed the Joint Statement on Docking and Cooperation between the Silk Road Economic Belt Construction and the Eurasian Economic Union Construction, and planned pragmatic cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative from a strategic and long-term perspective.

　　In October 2019, the economic and trade cooperation agreement between China and Eurasian Economic Union came into effect, providing institutional guarantee for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

　　At the same time, local cooperation between China and Russia has been deepening, and China and Russia have built an important cooperation platform under the framework of the "Belt and Road" — — China-Russia Expo. "In July this year, the seventh China-Russia Expo was successfully held in Yekaterinburg. According to the statistics of the local state government, during the exhibition, nearly 4,000 meetings were held between local governments and enterprises of the two countries, and the number of exhibitors and booth area reached the highest in history. " Cui Shaochun, Consul General of China in Yekaterinburg, said.

　　China’s ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, said in an exclusive interview with People’s Daily that in recent years, the "Belt and Road" and the Eurasian Economic Union have achieved fruitful cooperation and made important contributions to promoting regional economic growth and building an open world economy.

　　Maxim and his wife, Dalia, show their products in a tea shop in St. Petersburg. People’s Daily reporter Yang Qian photo

　　"Crossing the Wanli Tea Ceremony, I want to go to Yunnan to learn how to stir-fry tea."

　　How can a foreign boy who doesn’t know Chinese find a tea garden in a remote mountainous area of China?

　　"Hello, I’m Russian, my name is Maxim, and I sell tea in Russia. I want to be a guest at your home, can I? " "Yes, come on." Maxim told People’s Daily that thanks to the help of the Internet and friends in China, tea farmers warmly received him.

　　In the 17th century, China tea arrived in St. Petersburg from Wuyi Mountain in Fujian along the "Wanli Tea Ceremony". This international trade passage, which runs through China and the West and stretches across Wan Li, once transported a large amount of China tea to Russia, and drinking tea gradually became the living habit of local people.

　　Today, Maxim has a small tea shop in the center of St. Petersburg. The reporter saw in the store that more than 300 kinds of tea were placed in turn, and hundreds of tea sets were arranged neatly.

　　In addition to offline sales, he also runs an online shop, and his products are sold all over Russia. Maxim told the People’s Daily reporter that since he started his business in 2019, his business has developed rapidly. "Now, China tea is very popular in Russia, with more than 36,000 orders in the past year." Maxim said.

　　This spring, Maxim and his wife Dalia visited the tea garden in Menghai County, Yunnan Province. He hoped to spend more time in China in the future and learn how to pick and stir-fry tea with tea farmers.

　Maxim’s tea shop has teapots from Yixing, Jingdezhen and other places in China. People’s Daily reporter Yang Qian photo

　　Wanli Tea Ceremony, a small tea shop, witnessed the long history of economic and trade exchanges between China and Russia.

　　Nowadays, the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries continue to write new articles. The data shows that in 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and Russia exceeded 190 billion US dollars, an increase of 116% compared with a decade ago. In recent years, Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation has developed steadily, industrial docking has accelerated, and new kinetic energy has been jointly cultivated. The foundation has been continuously consolidated, the scale has been continuously expanded, the quality has been continuously improved, and the potential has been continuously enhanced.

　　In September last year, Moscow China Trade Center was officially put into operation. There are hotels, office buildings, apartments, conference centers and Chinese gardens in the comprehensive commercial body. In March this year, China Railway Construction won the bid and participated in part of the construction of the Great Ring Line of Moscow Metro, and the Lindajie Station in Mi Qiu attracted numerous attention because of its strong "Chinese style".

　　Zhang Xiaoqing, Deputy Consul General of China in St. Petersburg, told People’s Daily that as the "northern capital" and the second largest city of Russia, St. Petersburg’s exports to China have expanded from traditional timber and minerals to food and agricultural products, and enterprises of both sides have been actively exploring cooperation in new fields such as new energy, cultural creativity and cross-border e-commerce.

　　Liu Huaqin, a researcher at the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce and director of the Eurasian Institute, pointed out that Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation is highly complementary, and this trade structure has met the market demand of the two countries and promoted their economic development. In the future, the scale of bilateral trade is expected to further expand.

　　People’s Daily reporter interviewed at Berelast Logistics Center in Moscow.

　　"It is no longer a dream to transport 1 million TEUs"

　　Containers are colorful and lined up, forklift cranes are in full swing and operating in an orderly manner, and rows of cars are brand-new and bright and neatly placed … … At the Berelast Logistics Center in Moscow, all kinds of China goods from six ports in China and nearly 40 cities came by the "Iron Camel Team" of the China-Europe train.

　　"When I came here, it was still a wasteland. I didn’t expect it to develop so fast and so well." Zou Guangyu, from Liaoning, China, is currently the deputy general manager of Berelast Logistics Center Co., Ltd. He told reporters that the logistics center was jointly funded by Liaoning Port Group and Russian Railways in 2017, and the general manager rotation management system was adopted, with 6 employees from China and nearly 300 employees from Russia.

　　"In the beginning, there was only one Central European train every month. Now, we load and unload 20 to 25 trains in Central Europe every week. " Alexei Corea Chikov, production manager of Berelast Logistics Center, said. The goods transported by these trains are distributed from here to all parts of Russia.

　　In recent years, the scale of Berelast Logistics Center has expanded rapidly, becoming one of the top three logistics stations in Moscow and a microcosm of the "Belt and Road" facilities to promote development.

　　China brand cars in Berelast Logistics Center. People’s Daily reporter Shendyapin photo

　　In recent years, China-Europe trains have accelerated and become an important bridge for international economic and trade cooperation. According to the data released by the National Development and Reform Commission, in the past ten years, China-Europe trains have operated a total of 77,000 trains, transporting 7.31 million TEUs of goods, with a value exceeding 340 billion US dollars, reaching 217 cities in 25 European countries.

　　“‘ Belt and Road ’ The initiative is very important not only for us, but also for the international community. It is global and brings benefits to the world. " Alexei Grom, president of Eurasia Railway Logistics Co., Ltd., said in an interview with People’s Daily.

　　Grom said that after the initiative was put forward, several sustainable traffic arteries were formed in Eurasia. "Our company was established in 2013, and since then, we have been working with ‘ Belt and Road ’ Advocate to go hand in hand. "

　　"Where there is a railway, there is development." Grom said that China-Europe trains have made great contributions to the development of various places along the route.

　　In 2022, Eurasia Railway Logistics Co., Ltd. transported nearly 700,000 TEUs, compared with 350,000 TEUs in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 14%. Grom said with confidence: "At first, our goal was to transport 1 million TEUs a year. At that time, it was a distant dream. Today, no one doubts that it can be achieved. "

　　In an interview with People’s Daily Online, galina Kulikova, winner of the China National Friendship Medal and the first vice-chairman of the Russian China Friendship Association, said that the Belt and Road Initiative has given new meaning to the ancient Silk Road, which meets the needs of the new era and the expectations of the country and people jointly built by the Belt and Road Initiative. This initiative not only promotes the development of Sino-Russian relations, but also has great significance for global development.

　　Moscow Mi Qiu Lin Street subway station is permeated with a strong "Chinese style". People’s Daily reporter Ma Tianyi photo

　　"Writing poetry and painting, so I fell in love with China culture."

　　When Russian programmers meet China culture, what kind of "cross-border" sparks will be sparked?

　　Laying paper and studying ink, you will get a faint picture, and a few strokes will outline an ink painting full of pastoral artistic conception … Igor bourdon Novo, who is over 70 years old, expresses his love for China culture to reporters while creating. He said that he likes Tao Yuanming’s works very much, and he often records his life and expresses his feelings by writing poems.

　　As the chief researcher of Russian Institute of System Programming, computer programming is bourdon’s job, but learning and exploring China culture has already become an important part of his life. "China culture has brought me happiness and peace to my spiritual world." Bourdon’s said.

　　Igor bourdon’s inscription on the painting. People’s Daily reporter Ma Tianyi photo

　　Gu Yu, a translator in China, became attached to bourdon’s Nove because of his poems. Since 2019, the two have exchanged more than 1,500 letters, and they have gradually become intimate friends from strangers in foreign countries. "bourdon’s study of ancient Russian classics is very in-depth, and he has made his own contribution to the cultural exchange between China and China." Gu Yu has translated 432 poems written by bourdon Noff.

　　In recent years, the Russian people’s love for China culture has driven the "Chinese fever" to continue to heat up. The data shows that in 2022, the number of students studying Chinese in Russia reached 113,000, a record high.

　Eleonora Sefunard, the chief dancer of the Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre, was interviewed by People’s Daily. People’s Daily reporter Shendyapin photo

　　In the past summer, a Russian "ballet whirlwind" was set off in national centre for the performing arts. As a gold-lettered signboard of Russian ballet art, the Ballet of Moscow Grand Theatre visited China again after five years, and presented a visual feast of ballet for China audience with an all-star luxury lineup.

　　"I am very happy to visit the National Centre for the Performing Arts again. Five years ago, I came to China for the first time with the group to participate in the tour. After five years of continuous efforts, I also participated in many plays." Eleonora Sevnard, the chief dancer of the Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre, is excited and excited about performing in China. "I hope our performance can bring beautiful enjoyment to the Russian audience and enhance the friendship between China and China through ballet art."

　　The turn of the country lies in the people’s blind date, and the people’s blind date lies in the heart. Feng Litao, director of the Moscow China Cultural Center, said in an interview that over the past 10 years, China and Russia have extensively carried out multi-level and multi-field humanities exchanges and cooperation, further enhancing the friendship between the two peoples, promoting exchanges and mutual learning of human civilization, and promoting the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia in the new era to maintain a high level of development.

　　Silk road flowers are in full bloom, and mountains and seas are prosperous together. In the past 10 years, the "Belt and Road Initiative" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and the cooperation has been fruitful. These touching stories of building the "Belt and Road" are becoming a source of living water for development.