Russia’s economy has been dominated by energy, raw materials and heavy industry, while light manufacturing – clothing, household goods, consumer electronics – lags behind China’s capacity – a contrast repeatedly noted by international institutions like the World Bank and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
But advantage no longer guarantees sales, said Zhou.
Visitor numbers never fully recovered after the pandemic and the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
“Even after visa-free travel started, arrivals haven’t come back the way people hoped,” he said.
“There are barely any customers.”
The slowdown is reflected in rental prices.
A local tailor, identified only by his surname Wang, said monthly rent once peaked at about 500,000 yuan during the boom years.
Today, after renegotiations and landlord concessions, it remains below 30,000 yuan.
“The size of the rent cut mirrors the drop in sales,” he said. “Those who do come are spending less.”
Many merchants point to a weaker and more cautious Russian consumer.
While the ruble has strengthened against the yuan over the past year, it remains far below levels seen before 2014 – when Russia was first hit by Western sanctions following the annexation of Crimea.
Combined with sanctions, rising costs and wage pressures, that has shrunk shopping baskets.
“People are choosing lower-value items and are thinking carefully before buying,” Wang said.
“Their wages haven’t really gone up, and the economy in Russia isn’t good.”
Another problem is the spread of counterfeit goods.
Zhang Yanyan, who runs a Russian restaurant in Suifenhe and also operates a hotel in Vladivostok, said renewed interest in Russian products had produced a flood of imitation “Russian” goods in markets across the border.
“There’s been so much publicity that some people avoid buying Russian products because they fear fakes,” she said.
“Authentic importers suffer delays and extra scrutiny when counterfeit goods proliferate.”
The problem has drawn regulatory attention. Chinese market authorities launched inspections in several border cities to clamp down on shops falsely labelling goods as Russian, while Russian diplomatic missions in China have repeatedly warned consumers about counterfeits.
For legitimate importers this added scrutiny means extra checks, seizures and delays – all of which eat into already thin margins.
For Wang Jianpeng, the head of the association that represents many of these traders, the picture is clear: visa-free travel has reopened doors, but it cannot, on its own, recreate the old conditions that once powered Suifenhe’s retail boom.
“Movement has returned but it doesn’t automatically mean consumption,” he said.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-russia-border-town-suifenhe-economy-geopolitics-5848611
