"Good fences make good neighbors," Robert Frost once wrote. For Russia and China, who share a 4,300-kilometer border, building a good fence is not easy. In northeast Asia, the border between the two has opened up since the break up of the Soviet Union. Russians and Chinese rub elbows in border towns abuzz with trade. But smuggling and illegal migration are jeopardizing neighborly relations. The Vladivostok News examines Russia-China relations in a special series. Note: These stories are filed in the Vladivostok News' archives. To return to the current issue, click on your browser's "back" button until you see this page.

Russia, China eager for trade growth By Russell Working Along the border, China is ready to do business. And Russia is barely prepared to handle the growing commerce between the two nations.     Russia's Chinese population grows By Russell Working They live everywhere from hotels to cargo containers, and fill the markets of the Far East. Why are the Chinese coming to Primorye? Tourists throng to border towns Russell Working Russian tourists - and all of China - helped build Suifenhe, Heihe and other Chinese cities. And the visitors arrive with wallets full of dollars.     The land across the Amur Janina de Guzman Getting from Blagoveschensk to Beijing can be trickier than it looks.         Primorye Enlists Cossacks to Patrol Border By Russell Working VLADIMIRO-ALEXANDROVSKOYE -- As during tsarist times, Russia's fearsome Cossacks are waiting for their riding orders. Ruble slump hurts Chinese traders By Russell Working USSURISK, Russia - During a trip home to China this summer, Jin Lian Sun invested $1,129 in leather coats of a style she thought she could sell in Russia as autumn approached. China-related Web sites [Back to the top]  [Back to Front page]  [Write to us] © copyright 1998 the Vladivostok News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in any form.