RESEARCH ON THE COUNTERMEASURES FOR DIGITAL TRADE EMPOWERING THE HIGH-QUALITY DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA-RUSSIA CROSS-BORDER E-COMMERCE

In May 2024, during the meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, the two heads of state jointly signed the Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation in the New Era on the Occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations (hereinafter referred to as the Joint Statement).[1] The document explicitly mandates expanding bilateral trade volume and prioritizing deepening cooperation in cross-border e-commerce, digital economy, and other related fields, thereby establishing a fundamental strategic guideline at the bilateral level for empowering high-quality development of China-Russia cross-border e-commerce through digital trade. At the national policy level, the supporting framework has been continuously improved. In October 2025, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the Proposal for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (hereinafter referred to as the 15th Five-Year Plan).^[2] This proposal further clarifies the strategic directions of innovatively developing digital trade, orderly expanding opening-up in the digital domain, and fully supporting the growth of new business forms and models such as cross-border e-commerce, providing clear policy implementation guidance for China-Russia cross-border e-commerce cooperation from the perspective of the overall national development. In the academic research domain, the integrated development of digital trade and cross-border e-commerce has emerged as a prominent research hotspot. Ma Shuzhong and He Ge argue that in the era of the digital economy, cross-border e-commerce, as a new type of trade carrier, serves as the core link connecting China's manufacturing sector with global consumer markets and constitutes a vital pillar for constructing China's high-quality external circulation system. [3, p. 152] Research by Xie Jin et al. further indicates that new trade formats such as digital trade and cross-border e-commerce, empowered by technology, have broken through the spatio-temporal constraints and barriers inherent in traditional trade, injecting sustained vitality into the construction of the dual domestic and international circulation pattern. This proposition has been fully validated in the practical exploration of China-Russia economic and trade cooperation. [4, p. 10]

Against this backdrop, this paper, grounded in the major priority project lists outlined in the Joint Statement and the 15th Five-Year Plan, conducts an in-depth analysis of the inherent logic of digital trade empowering cross-border e-commerce and explores feasible pathways for the high-quality development of China-Russia cross-border e-commerce under special circumstances. The research aims to provide support for enhancing the collaborative stability of cross-border industrial chains and supply chains between China and Russia, and it possesses both academic research value and practical guiding significance.

The core crux of the insufficient timeliness of China-Russia cross-border e-commerce logistics lies in the low level of modernization of infrastructure for the three major transportation methods (railway, highway, and maritime shipping) in the Russian Far East. The shortcomings of logistics infrastructure have become a key obstacle restricting the high-quality development of bilateral cross-border e-commerce. In terms of railway transportation, the Trans-Siberian Railway, as the main channel for China-Russia cross-border logistics, has a railway network density of only 18 kilometers per 10,000 square kilometers in its Far East section, less than 35% of Russia’s average level. The sparse railway network is difficult to support inter-regional industrial chain coordination. Moreover, some sections of the railway experience a queuing period of 7-10 days during peak seasons, and the conventional transportation time generally remains 12-20 days, resulting in low transportation efficiency. I n terms of highway transportation, the shortcomings are more prominent. The total length of expressways in the Russian Far East is 126,000 kilometers, accounting for only 8.2% of Russia’s total. The interconnection between urban agglomerations and ports is insufficient, making it difficult to meet the efficient transportation needs of cross-border e-commerce logistics. In terms of maritime shipping, the cargo throughput of the Vladivostok Free Port in 2024 exceeded 37.4 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 11.7%, and the container throughput was 1.645 million TEUs, accounting for only 11.69% and 30% of Dalian Port respectively. The full-load operation of the port has led to frequent congestion, significantly lengthening the maritime shipping cycle. [7, p. 43]

First, the government should take the lead in promoting the innovation of the settlement system and lay a solid technical and institutional foundation for cross-border payments. The central bank, in conjunction with departments such as science and technology and commerce, should give play to its leading role in promoting the construction of a cross-border payment platform based on blockchain technology. A special scientific research fund should be established to encourage industry-university-research cooperation in the joint research and development of blockchain payment technologies suitable for China-Russia cross-border e-commerce, and unified technical standards and norms should be formulated to ensure the security and compatibility of the platform. Meanwhile, the central bank should strengthen communication and cooperation with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, sign local currency settlement cooperation agreements, and build a local currency settlement account system to further expand local currency settlement channels. This will fundamentally reduce dependence on third-party currencies such as the US dollar and euro, and mitigate trade risks caused by exchange rate fluctuations. Second, leading enterprises should take the lead in pilot projects to play an exemplary and leading role. Within China-Russia cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, large cross-border e-commerce enterprises such as Alibaba and AliExpress should be guided to take the lead in piloting the new cross-border payment and settlement platform. Relying on the platform’s real-time clearing and settlement functions, the capital in-transit time can be shortened, and the capital turnover efficiency of enterprises can be improved. At the same time, pilot enterprises should be encouraged to summarize practical experience, form a replicable and promotable settlement model, and drive the improvement of settlement efficiency across the entire industry. The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with financial regulatory authorities, should organize exchange rate risk management training activities for cross-border e-commerce enterprises, inviting professionals such as foreign exchange trading experts and financial scholars to give lectures. This will help enterprises, especially small and medium-sized sellers, master the application methods of exchange rate hedging tools such as foreign exchange forwards and foreign exchange options. Meanwhile, the government should set up special subsidy funds to reduce the cost for enterprises to use exchange rate risk management tools. Financial institutions should provide one-on-one exchange rate risk management consulting services for enterprises, and tailor personalized exchange rate hedging solutions according to the business characteristics and risk-bearing capacity of enterprises, helping them effectively respond to exchange rate fluctuation risks.

First, deepen industry-university-research integration and build a localized talent training system.In Northeast China and the Russian Far East, cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones should give full play to their platform advantages and promote in-depth industry-university-research cooperation among local universities and scientific research institutions. In the curriculum design of cross-border e-commerce-related majors, courses such as Russian market analysis and research on Russian consumers’ behavioral choices should be added to help students deeply understand the cultural background, consumption habits, and behavioral decision-making models of Russian consumers. At the same time, customized training should be carried out for on-the-job personnel, focusing on content such as Russian e-commerce market regulations and cross-border e-commerce operation practices, to continuously deliver professional and interdisciplinary talents to the industry. Second, strengthen talent introduction and retention and optimize the talent development environment. On the one hand, local governments should introduce targeted preferential policies for talent introduction, focusing on professional talents in operations, management, and technology in the field of China-Russia cross-border e-commerce. Policy support should be provided in terms of housing subsidies, tax reductions and exemptions, and children’s education to attract outstanding talents and achieve long-term retention. Meanwhile, strengthen China-Russia talent exchange and cooperation, promote talent mutual visits and exchange learning in the China-Russia cross-border e-commerce industry, and facilitate the capacity improvement and experience sharing of talents from both sides.

First, optimize logistics transportation models and resource integration. Encourage China-Russia cross-border e-commerce enterprises to strengthen cooperation with logistics enterprises to jointly build an intelligent logistics system. Using big data, artificial intelligence, and other technologies, an intelligent logistics system should be established to realize real-time sharing of logistics information and intelligent planning of transportation routes, thereby improving overall transportation efficiency. In the Russian Far East, promote the establishment of a logistics alliance to integrate scattered logistics resources, realize joint distribution and warehousing sharing, and reduce logistics costs. At the same time, give play to the exemplary and leading role of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones, explore and innovate logistics models, carry out multimodal transport pilot projects, and promote the seamless connection of railways, highways, and maritime shipping to enhance the comprehensive transportation capacity of cross-border logistics. Second, promote the seamless connection of railways, highways, and maritime shipping to enhance the comprehensive transportation capacity of cross-border logistics. Based on the core arrangements of the *Joint Statement*, jointly formulate unified cross-border logistics service quality standards and strengthen the coordinated supervision of logistics enterprises. Establish a logistics service evaluation and feedback mechanism, and rectify or eliminate enterprises that fail to meet service quality standards. Meanwhile, improve the cross-border logistics insurance system, expand the scope of insurance coverage, provide comprehensive insurance protection for cross-border e-commerce cargo transportation, and effectively reduce economic losses caused by problems such as transportation delays and cargo damage.

References:

1. The People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation. Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership for a New Era on the Occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations [EB/OL]. 2024-05-16.
2. The State Council of the People's Republic of China. Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through 2035[Z]. Beijing: China Legal Publishing House, 2026.
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