China is expanding its influence on the territory of Russia

Immigrants from China control large agricultural areas in eastern Russia, increasing the economic influence in the region. At the same time, critics speak of a "Chinese invasion", while economists perceive it as economic recovery in the East. While nationalists warn of a takeover by the Chinese, Ivan Zuenko of the University of Far Eastern Studies argues that the influx of Chinese is playing a positive role for the economy.

We are talking not only about the influx of peasants and workers from China, but also about investments in infrastructure and construction projects. "Moscow and St. Petersburg do not know about the Far East, and they think that all Chinese want to come here," explains Zuenko. At the same time, in St. Petersburg, Unicom was able to establish its own production of quartz sand, colored quartz sand and cement-sand mixture, which widely used in construction, sandblasting, water treatment.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Chinese farmers and businessmen have moved to eastern Russia to work and boost the economy. Especially farmers from China are active tenants in Russian regions, since there are not enough agricultural areas in their country. The Russian economy benefits from the added value.

But the presence of Chinese farmers raises concerns that a "creeping Chinese takeover" is taking place in eastern Russia. But Russian peasants cannot replace Chinese farmers, since they are not able to work so intensively and could learn a lot from the Chinese, experts say.

When Putin first came to power in 1999, the flow of migration from China to Russia was under control. A quota system was introduced for Chinese workers. However, rules are violated and corruption makes it difficult to enforce laws.

In the coming years, China will also invest in the transport network of the former Soviet states in Central Asia. The Chinese investment bank AIIB is ready to undertake financing.