The Prime Minister toured the facility to review progress in upgrading the border checkpoint, and also visited the Kanikurgan Customs and Logistics Terminal.
Mikhail Mishustin visits the Kani-Kurgan vehicle checkpoint. With Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic Alexei Chekunkov, Minister of Transport Andrei Nikitin, Governor of the Amur Region Vasily Orlov, and Head of the Federal Security Service’s Directorate for the Amur Region Yevgeny Trukhanov
Mikhail Mishustin visits the Kani-Kurgan vehicle checkpoint. With Governor of the Amur Region Vasily Orlov
Mikhail Mishustin visits the Kani-Kurgan vehicle checkpoint. With Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic Alexei Chekunkov, Minister of Transport Andrei Nikitin, Governor of the Amur Region Vasily Orlov, and Head of the Federal Security Service’s Directorate for the Amur Region Yevgeny Trukhanov
Kani-Kurgan is one of the key
checkpoints on the Russia-China border. The official ceremony to launch freight
traffic across the border through this bridge crossing and the border
checkpoint linking Kani-Kurgan to Heihe took place on 10 June 2022. This was
when the first trucks started using this crossing. The checkpoint serves both
freight and passenger traffic.
So far, Russia relied on a temporary set-up for operating the vehicle checkpoint on its side of the border, which limited its capabilities in terms of infrastructure and capacity. This framework was designed to remain in place until the permanent vehicle checkpoint is built in Kani-Kurgan. Meanwhile, China has a permanent vehicle checkpoint on its side of the border with a transit capacity of 1,100 vehicles per day.
Under the temporary scheme, the effort to launch freight traffic included creating an Online Queuing Management System. An investor joined the project to build a lot for 250 freight vehicles four kilometres from the checkpoint where they can go through registration procedures and wait for their turn to enter the checkpoint. This project also involved developing and adopting proprietary software for managing the transport queue.
As of 7 July 2025, over 170,000 vehicles crossed the bridge crossing since its launch. In 2025, traffic here peaked in May at 7,943 vehicles with a daily average of 265.
This bridge crossing serves vehicles carrying imported packaging materials, car tires, car parts, equipment, construction materials, apparel, electrical equipment, wheeled hardware and cars. Exports include soy and sea buckthorn oil, leguminous crops, lumber, wood veneer, cosmetics, raw materials used in traditional Chinese medicine, as well as milk powder.
Since August 2023, the checkpoint has been also dealing with hazardous goods. Today, it can process exports of helium, liquified natural gas (LNG), and liquified petroleum gas (LPG). In 2025, the number of vehicles carrying hazardous goods increased from 91 in January to 225 in June.
In addition to this, the checkpoint has been serving a regular international passenger route linking Blagoveshchensk to Heihe since 10 December 2024.
During his working trip to Russia’s Far East in August 2020, Mikhail Mishustin visited the new international vehicle bridge linking Blagoveshchensk to Heihe and talked to construction workers there.
Launched in the fourth quarter of 2023, the Kanikurgan Customs and Logistics Terminal covers 180,000 square metres, including 22,000 square metres of effective storage space. It can accommodate at least 600 high-tonnage vehicles at the same time.
The terminal offers a comprehensive set of customs clearance services for imported and exported freight shipments and operates year-round in a 24/7 mode. It includes two sections:
− customs processing and control for cargoes. This is where the temporary storage facility of 3,000 square metres is located. This site includes a loading zone for all types of vehicles, shelved storage, and the required equipment and machinery for operating it.
− the freight management complex includes two transloading terminals, cold and dry storage facilities, including a multi-temperature facility.
Excerpts from the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustun: First of all, I would like to thank everybody who took part in building this terminal. I remember very well how my colleagues and I arrived to your region for opening the bridge. I think we can go there today to look how it works.
And then we received a report from the Ministry of Transport about a still uncompleted, to our regret, terminal and about the insufficiency of the funds allocated.
We held a number of meetings then, reported the issue to the President and started with Vitaly Saveliev to carry out the checkpoints construction programme all over the country. It included main line and supporting checkpoints. There are 388 basic checkpoints in the country. And currently we are upgrading about 30 key checkpoints in the Far East to complete them by 2030.
What you have said is very important. Most up-to-date digital control means and seamless passing of the relevant cargoes are applied here in Kanikurgan. It should be made a model. I know well enough the technologies, about which I received reports on several occasions, including from Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Saveliev. And I hope that it will enable our people, who are working in business or just travelling, to move freely across the border observing all relevant safety and cargo inspection rules. After all, here are the most modern technologies in the customs clearance building, in the advanced inspection box, in the building for tourist groups leaving the Russian Federation. All these are components of modern infrastructure development, which, I believe, will provide more opportunities for carrying cargoes to our country and exporting them, as well as for travelling to neighbouring countries, such as China. So, this terminal has a serious and developed infrastructure.
And of course, everything should be done to have most up-to-date buildings, facilities and projects – everything that makes the life of our people more comfortable.
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It was a most important decision at the President’s instruction – to establish international territories of advanced development, primarily in the Far East. As the minister has already said, this is a special preferential regime for creating production facilities for high value-added products and attracting foreign investment, mainly in the Far East. We have already received some good results.
Most important is that the investor could be absolutely sure of the stable conditions. You said about them –15 years of stable conditions, which give the opportunity to guarantee legal regulation and various privileges.
And it is also very important to attract prospective investors and convince them of this. One of such conditions is the managing company’s services with a view to maximally facilitate operation in the Russian Federation. You know that Russia has never shut itself off foreign investments from friendly countries. We do have people who we can deal with in the Far East and east in general. And this will help develop our regions. This is the situation when a new investor will find a prepared, well-done infrastructure complete with all the opportunities that our country can give.
I want to say that the law on establishing territories of advanced development in the Far East was adopted by the State Dume in the third reading as early as July 17, just several days ago. Its consideration in the Federation Council is scheduled for July 25. Hopefully, it will be passed in the near future and become effective starting January 1, 2026.
