id Russia itself still has issues to take care of before trade can be expanded. We shouldn't forget that we still have to improve our border passages, services, capacity and customs processing, he said. The bad conditions on our side of the border impede all efforts to increase cross-border trade.1.7 The nationalism in Russia and other political trends may seriously affect the Sino-Russia relationship. Firstly, the pouring of Chinese traders and immigrants make many Russians feel disturbed and even panicked. It is estimated by the Russian government that the Russian Far East comprises a territory of 36.4 percent of the entire Russian Federation. However, its population is only 7.6million and 5.4% of the total population of the Russian Federation. The Far East is a large area, endowed with rich natural resources, and a very small population. More important, it is remote from Moscow. Therefore, the so-called Chinese Expansionism also affects the bilateral understanding and trade relationship. Secondly, many Chinese media still denounce Russia because it had taken away almost 1.5 million square-kilometers fertile land from China and bullied on Chinese there. In the Russian Far East Programme composed by Russian government, it is said, The decline of Russian geopolitical positions has spurred Japan and China to directly arise their territorial claims to Russia. Therefore, Russian government has taken some precaution measures to control the so-called Chinas economic infiltration. Thirdly, the good Sino-Russia political relationship is based on the common suspicion against the Western countries. If Russia has improved its relationship with the Western countries, the Sino-Russia political and trade relationship will be inevitably affected. These are favorable conditions for expanding trade. However, the total amount of two-way trade is quite small, and by the year 2000, it is expected to reach no more than $20 billion. 2. How to tackle the...
