Editor's note: The author is Heilongjiang Deputy - Governor Sun Yao, who outlines the province's efforts to further open its border areas to Russian trade and its overall partnership with the neighboring country.

Heilongjiang Deputy-Governor Sun Yao (right) meets a government official from Amur Oblast, Russia. [Provided to China Daily]

Heilongjiang shares a 2,981-kilometer border with the Russian regions of Primorsky Kray, Khabarovskiy Kray, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Amur Oblast and the Baikal.

We now have 15 border ports to Russia as we serve as the bridgehead and hub of Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation.

In 2012, Sino-Russian trade in Heilongjiang totaled 21.3 billion yuan ($3.42 billion), a quarter of the nation's total.

Investment from Heilongjiang enterprises in Russia accounts for one-third of the overall figure from China.

Cargo transported through Heilongjiang ports reached 25 million tons last year, half of the total.

Russia is now the third-largest source of inbound tourists to China, while China ranks second in the Russian tourism market.

In recent years, more than a half of Russian tourists on their first trip to China came to Heilongjiang and more than half of Chinese visitors toured Russia via the northeastern province.