Two major powers that are being drawn closer

by the Belt and Road Initiative.

I will explore the spectacular wealth

that's been created at the border of these two countries.

I'll uncover the history of Russians in China.

And I'll meet the latest Friendship Ambassadors of the Belt and Road.

A Belt and Road Initiative linking China and Russia

has sparked celebration and concern.

Rival powers, Russia and China...

Russia and with China...

Russia or China...

In my journey along the road to Russia,

I will visit China's border cities with Russia.

This entire city is lit in gold.

I will discover the splendours of Mongolia with its untapped riches,

-It's like a house on wheels! -Yes.

mysterious Uzbekistan through its stunning cities,

and I will explore the Kremlin and the power it wields.

This is my journey through one of China's key economic corridors

on its Belt and Road.

In the last year, much of the focus on international relations worldwide

has been on a US-China trade war.

One upshot from that is renewed attention on one of the world's oldest

and most chequered bilateral relationships.

I've been researching Sino-Russian relations,

and I've become convinced that it is an important relationship to watch.

The two countries' increasing alliance

is making American and some European leaders uncomfortable.

But is a China-Russia partnership so terrifying to begin with?

Where do we begin unpacking this bilateral relationship

that has more layers than a Russian doll?

Well, here's a good place to start,

the world's largest Matryoshka Doll Square,

replete with domes, dolls, and other designer kitsch.

This is a “Disney-fied” Russia.

This is Manzhouli, in Northeast China.

A border zone where Russia, Mongolia and China meet.

What's so amazing about this place

is how China so openly advertises its Russian links.

China has many friends,

but I haven't seen the Chinese government

building a Pakistan town or an Italian town

to celebrate its bilateral relations.

This place is absolutely one of a kind,

and a testament to Chinese-Russian ties.

The Doll Square is empty because it's freezing winter.

But make no mistake, Manzhouli is a busy town.

It's China's busiest land port,

and it is the main rail gateway to Russia.

65% of all import-export trade runs along these tracks.

And these tracks are now busier than ever.

Trade between Russia and China soared by nearly 25% in 2018,

reaching a record turnover of US$108 billion.

Manzhouli is also a special cross-border trade zone,

and has all sorts of facilities for logistics, customs, processing,

exhibition, trading, supply chain finance, and so on.

This is the Russian-China trade hub.

But Manzhouli's relationship with Russia isn't all about dollars and cents.

It's also about friendship and goodwill

between neighbouring cities and states.

And Manzhouli has come up with new ways to promote those friendships.

The pageant has a strategic objective.

It's to promote China's friendship with Russia,

and shared neighbour, Mongolia.

The China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor

is one of six major corridors on the Belt and Road masterplan.

Ma Ying Zhe is one of the men in charge of organising

this cross-border extravaganza.

So what does this beauty pageant have to do with the Belt and Road Initiative?

Who are the organisers?

The charm offensive is effective.

The event is covered by more than a hundred media outlets

in the three countries.

How do you not win hearts and minds with this?

These girls are walking around in so little clothing

in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius.

I couldn't do it.

This must be the toughest weather conditions

any beauty pageant participant has to endure, anywhere in the world!

Russian-China relations are all smiles now, mostly.

But there was a time when relations weren't so rosy.

In the early 1950s,

Russian and Chinese leaders dreamed of fashioning a world of Communism.

But by the late 60s,

the two Communist giants had entered into such a fierce battle for supremacy

that they became bitter enemies.

They even threatened to use nuclear weapons on each other.

Thousands of Muscovites demonstrate outside the Chinese embassy in Moscow.

The confrontation across the Ussuri River

at the Far Eastern frontier between the two countries

has provoked a king-sized outburst of propaganda from both sides.

The Russians claim that over 40 of their border guards have lost their lives.

The most serious development has been the Russian threat

to escalate the whole thing into a full scale conflict,

to initiate an offensive with nuclear weapons.

With the breakup of the Soviet Union,

the border dispute was also scaled down.

In 1991,

the two countries signed a pact demarcating their borders.

And today,

all bitterness from the past is hardly ever discussed.

Nowadays, the dialogue revolves around excellent bilateral relations.

In 2017,

Putin presented Xi with Russia's highest state award.

In 2018,

Xi handed Putin a large, golden “Medal of Friendship”,

declaring the Russian leader his “best, most intimate friend”.

The two leaders have met over 30 times since 2013.

In addition to excellent trade ties,

China and Russia support each other on a wide variety of foreign policy issues,

including the Venezuela crisis,

North Korea's nuclear programme, and the Iran nuclear deal.

Whatever the strategic reasons may be for the blossoming friendship,

it has made Manzhouli a boom town.

With serious investment pouring into the Wild West frontier town

of the Chinese border,

Sino-Russian trade is taking off.

And I'm off to meet a tycoon raking it in from the Sino-Russian trade.

You might find it surprising

but this is one of the biggest and most profitable businesses in Manzhouli.

Russia and China trade in many things,

oil, timber, electronics, you name it.

But it's humble vegetables that are moving fastest.

The reason has to do with politics.

In 2014, Russia cut ties with its fruits and vegetable suppliers

from the European Union and US.

A retaliation against sanctions over the Ukraine issue.

Russia has to buy its fruits and vegetables elsewhere.

That was when Putin turned to his old comrade in China.

This is probably the most vegetables I've seen in my life.

All of this is being sent to the Russian city of Irkutsk,

1,500 kilometres away.

Four years ago, this journey would have taken seven days on the road.

But today, that travel time has been cut in half

because of all the new roads that have been built

due to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Chinese vegetables are moving faster than ever.

According to Russian government statistics,

Russia buys US$1 billion worth of vegetables,

and US$300 million worth of citrus fruits from China annually.

This company alone, Sen Fu Logistics,

exports US$50 million worth of fruits and vegetables

to Russia a year.

In 2018, their export volume to Russia grew 13%,

compared to the previous year.

Meng Lin is the woman in charge.

She moved to Manzhouli 25 years ago,

and Meng Lin has done very well.

There are a lot of awards here, congratulations.

Earlier today, I was able to check out your company,

and I have to say the place looked very busy.

Can you tell me a little bit about the history of your business?

Sure, thank you.

You were 21 years old when you first came to Manzhouli.

What was it that brought you here?

25 years. Time flies.

What was Manzhouli like back then?

And it's all thanks to Russia-China ties?

We hear a lot about the Belt and Road Initiative.

How has it impacted your business?

Mangoes, once an exotic rarity across the border,

can now be bought in Russian supermarkets,

even in Siberia.

These foreign fruits are now much more accessible

thanks to the new trade links.

Just another example of how China's Silk Road

is changing the world.

To your successful partnership with Russia.

-Thank you... -You're welcome.

This is the boom town that is Manzhouli.

A Chinese city with an obvious Russian feel to it,

everywhere you turn.

There's a good reason why.

Manzhouli is the poster city for exciting developments in Sino-Russian trade.

The thriving tempo of cross-border trade is best felt here,

at the Manzhouli Trade Centre.

It's the city's official cross-border trade zone.

It's not even 9am,

and already, a long queue has formed outside.

They're here for one thing mainly.

Wheat flour.

Bags and bags of the stuff fly off the shelves here,

bound for shops and restaurants across the city.

It's a flour frenzy.

Driven not by traders, but by very entrepreneurial townsfolk.

This morning, there was a long line of people waiting to get in here.

Can you tell me what that was about?

This happens on a daily basis?

Bread is a must-have in this part of China.

Flour may be the star product.

But there's also trade in candies,

chocolates, honey,

skincare, cooking oil,

and all kinds of Russian products imaginable.

The Manzhouli Trade Centre isn't just any other Russian departmental store.

For the local government,

it's a shining example of how both sides of the border

have plenty to gain from the Belt and Road Initiative.

This trade zone is an example of some of the unique businesses

that have come up on the New Silk Road.

Manzhouli has a special role

on China's Belt and Road global economic masterplan.

And here's why.

China has identified six economic corridors on the Belt and Road Initiative.

The China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor

is one of these six corridors.

And one that is accelerating particularly quickly.

The road and rail connections between the two countries are especially timely,

given China's less than rosy trade ties with the United States currently.

But border towns like Manzhouli are richer for it, not just from trade.

Look at what it has done to the city's nightlife.

There are many Russian restaurants in Manzhouli.

Let's go check this one out.

-Hello. -Hi!

Thank you.

Oh my goodness. Look at that bear!

Kristina is the maître d' of the Lubulin,

a dive that's popular among out-of-towners.

The food is just part of the attraction.

For many Chinese visiting the city,

this could be their first taste of Russian culture.

This is quite the grand room you've prepared for us.

I feel like a king in here.

Thank you so much.

Your Mandarin is quite good.

What made you want to study Chinese?

Do you have many friends from Russia who want to work here?

Is the salary higher here, compared to Russia?

Do you have many Russians applying to work at your restaurant?

What's the process of hiring a Russian?

How things have changed.

Thirty years ago, people on this side of the border wanted to go West.

Now, Russians are wanting to come East.

It really shows how far China has come.

My trip in Manzhouli is coming to an end,

but there's a lot more to discover about Sino-Russian relations.

And for that, I will be headed to Harbin,

the music city of China.

This is Harbin.

A city with deep-rooted Russian connections.

At Harbin's main street, the city's Russian flavour is hard to miss.