Prime Minister Karim Massimov (third left) leads a team from Kazakhstan on a visit to Wuhan University in 2014.
Flowing through 13 federal subjects in Russia, the Volga River is often called "Mother Volga" by Russians, as it plays a vital role in both the country's economy and people's livelihoods.
Similar to the Volga, the Yangtze River is considered the Mother River of China, with the middle and upper reaches the home to a group of cities that boast convenient transportation, competitive industrial bases and advanced resources in technology and education.
Although the two rivers do not meet geographically, their similar status and strategic locations bring cooperation opportunities for residents living along the rivers.
Located in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Hubei province has been actively promoting cooperation between the cities along the Yangtze and Volga.
During the China-Russia Provincial Governor Forum held in Kazan, the capital of Russia's Tatarstan, in April 2012, Wang Guosheng, the governor of Hubei province, first proposed cooperation between cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Volga rivers.
One year later, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Mikhail Babich, a Russian presidential representative, co-chaired a regional leaders forum on the cooperation of regions along the Yangtze and Volga rivers, which marked the launch of the cooperative mechanism.
In October 2013, the regional cooperation was lifted to national strategic level when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev announced the deepening of cooperation between Yangtze provinces and Volga federal districts.
The following year, more than 21 economic projects and 15 cultural projects were included on a list of cooperation projects signed on the side of a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2014. Four advantages boost the cooperation between cities along the two rivers.
First, the ideal geographical locations open wide markets for both areas.
Second, the pillar industries for both areas are manufacturing and petrochemicals, which gives companies in both countries great potential for cooperation.
Third, both areas are centers of technology and education, allowing universities and research institutes to exchange ideas and findings, and potentially industrialize scientific discoveries. Finally, beautiful landscapes along both rivers make them ideal for tourism.
Connecting through tea
Tea trading between China and Russia since the 17th century has resulted in a commerce route known in Russia as the "Great Tea Road", which starts in Yangloudong, Hubei province.
In its early days, bricks of tea were first loaded on ships at Yangloudong and transported through Hankou - the key port in Hubei province - to the north, then unloaded and carried to their final destinations on horseback.
Some merchants traveled through Mongolia to Russia, while others chose to traverse Central Asia to Eurasia.
According to some historical materials, 86 percent of the tea drank around the world was exported by China during the mid-18th century to late 19th century, of which the tea from Hankou accounted for 60 percent.
As around 85 percent of the tea in Russia came from the tea market in Hankou, the city was known as the "Oriental Port of Tea" and "World's Trade Center of Tea", and most of the tea in Hankou was green tea from Yangloudong.
In June 2014, Chinese State Councilor Yang gave Russian presidential representative Babich a green tea brick from Yangloudong, on which was printed the Yangtze and Volga rivers and a map of the ancient tea road.
This national gift made green tea from Hubei province more popular in Russia.
The Yangloudong Tea Industry Co has signed an investment contract worth $100 million with Russian companies in Perm Krai, and plans to build a production base and research center in the city of Perm.
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