It was announced at the 18th Harbin Business Meeting that the first railway bridge connecting China and Russia, which spans the Heilongjiang River, may be completed by the year 2010.
　　Bringing together the Tongjiang Port of China and Xia-Lie-Ning-Si-Kuo-Ye Port of Russia, the railway will eventually join the Siberian Railway to get connected with Habaluofusike City (the largest far-eastern city in Russia), in the east and the European Continent in the west.
　　It is learned, the proposal was first put forward by Russia, with Peter-Hanbol-Manike Holdings Co., Ltd chosen as the major investor and St. Petersburg Design Institute invited as the designer. China has also included the bridge into its near-term development program.
　　In another development, China has reached a series of agreements with Russia on the import of iron ore from the latter’s Far East region. Erection of this railway bridge, it is believed, will contribute to the integrated development of mineral resources in the region.