A convoy of nine trucks left northwest China’s Xinjiang province on Friday for the Russian city of Novosibirsk to take part in a test run of an ambitious international highway.
It is a key route in a broader economic corridor envisioned by China, Mongolia and Russia, according to Chinese state media. The trucks left the city of Urumqi in Xinjiang province and will arrive in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third largest city, after covering a distance of 2,250 kilometers on a six-day journey through Mongolia.
Asia Highway 4 (AH4) is the second international highway connecting China, Mongolia and Russia. It is also part of an ambitious project to expand trade in energy and natural resources beyond China and Russia and include Mongolia in a tripartite pact to create a new model of regional cooperation.
About 577 km of the AH4 highway is in China, while 758 km of the highway is in Mongolia and 918 km in Russia. The AH4 will play a “pivotal” role in shaping the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, a Chinese Ministry of Transport official said at the opening ceremony in Urumqi.
Mongolia has been expanding its ties with China and Russia, particularly after China’s border reopened this year after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, capitalizing on its geographic position as a transportation hub for the region.
China and Russia are strengthening land-based cross-border connectivity in the Russian Far East, as well as deep into the Eurasian heartland, as their trade ties expand.
