Heilongjiang aims to increase trade with Russia via a new Free Trade pilot zone. Part of the plan is to make the border city of Heihe a hub for logistics and bilateral exchange. But efforts to boost trade have long been underway. CGTN Reporter Feng Yilei looks at the fast-growing cross-border e-commerce.

A growing taste for Russian produce, cheap, fresh and safe- that's how Chinese consumers describe food from their northern neighbor. Now Chinese people can satisfy their appetite, ordering on the Internet and getting door-to-door delivery, thanks to booming online-to-offline e-commerce services.

WANG YAO FOUNDER, EPINDUO "The weakening Ruble and a pursuit of better living standards have stimulated demand for Russian goods. We work directly with Russian manufacturers to cut out the cost of middlemen and provide consumers low-price authentic products."

The manager of the leading Russian goods dealer in Heihe says the company has accumulated more than one and a half million dollars of online sales revenues. In its warehouse in the city's border economic zone, workers are busy distributing imported products across China, day in and day out. More than a hundred e-commerce firms in the park have sold over 4 hundred million dollars worth of products, accounting for a considerable part of the city's economy.

FENG YILEI HEIHE, HEILONGJIANG PROVINCE "Progress has also been made in the other direction-- e-commerce trading platforms are reinvigorating Chinese exports to Russia's consumer market, after its long-term trade surplus with Russia reversed, and the deficit ballooned."

Heihe now is also the home to the developer of the biggest China-to-Russia electromechanical devices trading website. Five years ago, technological barriers and cultural differences hampered the company when it first decided to transition from traditional car manufacturing and trading. But its efforts, from online marketing to developing a public e-commerce platform, have helped its business weather a market depression.

SONG XIAOTAO CHAIRMAN, HEIHE LIYUANDA GROUP "During the hardest period, the Internet increased our sales volume and categories. Online business accounted for over 80% of the total. We managed to expand our market from the Russian Far East to greater Europe. And the platform has boosted the general exports of Chinese engineering machines."

The entrepreneur says the company now faces new challenges- a funding gap, peer competition and the fast-changing global business environment. But it's getting support from local authorities - including infrastructure, consulting services and subsidies for logistics.

ZHANG BO DIRECTOR, HEIHE CROSS-BORDER E-COMMERCE INDUSTRIAL PARK "We have introduced a series of preferential policies- which promote participation of border area residents, cooperation with third-party platforms, self-built platforms and SMEs."

With e-commerce trade volume between China and Russia at a record high in the first three quarters of last year, the two countries signed a deal to further scale up and standardize the sector. Industry insiders are confident they can take bilateral trade to new heights and complement each other's main industrial forms. Feng Yilei, CGTN, Heihe.