China and Russia To Create Massive New Changchun-Moscow Eurasian Logistics Highway

China’s Jilin Province Logistics Group and Russia’s RZD Logistics have signed an agreement that aims aim to develop a new Eurasian logistics artery along a cross-border route that will connect the city of Changchun (the administrative centre of China’s Jilin province), the Hunchun cross-border checkpoint in Jilin, and Moscow.

The agreement provides for several initiatives to accelerate efforts to build this highway, including optimizing customs control procedures, updating cargo transshipment technologies, and increasing transport efficiency. These are aimed at reducing cross-border logistics costs for products in competitive industries in the Jilin province, such as automotive engineering and agricultural product processing. Changchun is a major site for China’s auto brands manufacturing, auto components manaufacturing, and railway train and carriage construction, along with related secondary industries.

The agreement also outlined the aim of the future Changchun-Hunchun-Moscow logistics highway throughput capacity to be similar to that of the existing Manzhouli-Zabaikalsk border crossing. This crossing is the largest land checkpoint by cargo turnover between China and Russia and handles more than 50% of the cross-border cargo flow of the two countries. During 2024, over 20 million tons of cargo transited through the Zabaikalsk-Manzhouli crossing.

The Jilin Province Logistics Group have committed to ensuring the uninterrupted functioning of the highway, and stated it is ready to constantly increase the efficiency of railway traffic organization, update the operating models of the relevant checkpoints, and accelerate steps towards creating an integrated service system in the ‘Logistics + Production + Trade’ format in China.

RZD Logistics has committed to building the logistics artery from the Russian side, and also stated their intention to collaborate with its Jilin partner to optimize the existing Hunchun-Kamyshovaya-Moscow transport line, relying on the throughput capabilities of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the checkpoints of Jilin province.

The new highway will see existing highway routes in both China and Russia upgraded and expanded. The current road distance between Changchun and Moscow is 7,582km.