Photo: Courtesy of Embassy of Russia in China

An opening ceremony was held in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on February 2, 2023 to mark the official inauguration of the fifth Consulate General of the Russian Federation in China. Russian Ambassador to China H.E. Igor Morgulov, Russian Consul-General in Harbin Vladimir Oshchepkov, Vice Governor of Heilongjiang Province Yu Jian and Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Wu Xi attended the ceremony and delivered remarks. 

Ambassador Morgulov spoke highly of the friendly and cooperative relations between Russia and China and thanked the Chinese side for the assistance provided to the opening of the Consulate General. Noting that Heilongjiang has the longest stretch of China's land border with Russia, Morgulov said that the opening of the new Consulate General will further promote exchanges and cooperation between Russia and China in various fields at the sub-national level and constantly advance bilateral relations. 

In 2022, the Consulate General organized about 40 events, which strongly promoted exchanges and cooperation between Heilongjiang and Russia in fields such as trade, transportation, education, economy, sports and culture. The establishment of the new Consulate General of Russia will inject new energy into the Chinese-Russian cooperation, as well as further enrich the strategic content of bilateral relations. So far, there are one Russian embassy in Beijing and five consulates in Harbin, Shenyang, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.