From Moscow to Kazan, feel the power of Sino-Russian cooperation.

From Moscow to Kazan, feel the power of Sino-Russian cooperation.

In 1552, Ivan the Terrible of Moscow captured the Kazan khanate established by the Tatars, and Moscow and Kazan embarked on the road of integration. More than 400 years later, a high-speed rail line built by China Company will connect the two cities more closely.

From Moscow to Kazan, Sino-Russian cooperation has blossomed. Russian capital and technology are gradually entering China, bringing benefits to the people of both countries. While adjusting themselves to meet the needs of the Russian market, these Russian enterprises are also bringing positive changes to many aspects of the Russian economy.

Bring about new changes

"Moscow City" is the central business district of Moscow, with many skyscrapers, which stands out among the Soviet-style buildings around it. AliExpress’s office is located on the 16th floor of the Empire State Building in Moscow City.

Sending parcels from China to Russian consumers and cultivating Russian online shopping habits are the "homework" that Alibaba completed in Russia from 2012 to 2016. In the attack of international e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Russian local e-commerce, Alibaba gradually won and became the largest e-commerce company in the Russian market.

When it comes to the secret of success, Liu Wei, director of AliExpress Russian Station of Alibaba, said in an understatement that all this is mainly due to the good quality and low price of goods in China.

Liu Huaqin, a researcher at the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce of China, believes that the infrastructure interconnection under the framework of "One Belt, One Road" has promoted the development of cross-border e-commerce between China and, and the opening of land transportation routes such as China-Europe trains has reduced cross-border transportation costs.

When Alibaba first came to Russia, Russians were not keen on online shopping, and e-commerce was marginalized in this country.

Foreign e-commerce companies such as Amazon have fully realized the taste of acclimatization in Russia, and Russian local e-commerce companies are also struggling. They are stuck in two difficult problems: first, the supply is insufficient, because most Russian goods depend on imports; Secondly, Russia has a large territory and a backward logistics system.

Backed by China, Alibaba’s supply of goods is naturally not a problem, but the logistics problem lies ahead, blocking the way.

Russia Post is an old state-owned enterprise, and its business volume and efficiency are at a low level. In this regard, Russians who usually only mail some documents do not feel anything wrong. However, during a large-scale promotion of AliExpress in Russia in 2013, a flood of China products pushed Russia Post to the forefront.

At that time, parcels from China were piled up at Russian customs. Russian buyers who used to receive packages from China one month after placing an order found that it actually took two or three months this time. Complaints and accusations against Russia Post are overwhelming on the Internet, and some people even write letters to Putin to protest. The Russian government responded quickly and quickly replaced the head of Russia Post.

Liu Wei said that Alibaba directly connected with the new leadership of Russian Post and Russian Customs to hold a meeting to discuss countermeasures. Since then, Alibaba has helped Russia to establish an electronic customs clearance system, which has improved efficiency.

Russia Post has also added outlets that can handle international postal parcels. Previously, only one city in Moscow could handle it. Later, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg were added.

Liu Wei said that the business volume and service level of the entire logistics industry in Russia have been improved, which has also injected new vitality into Russian economic development.

Alibaba’s growth in Russia not only promoted the development of logistics industry, but also promoted the upgrading of banking system. During the "Double Eleven" promotion two years ago, millions of buyers made payment requests online at the same time, which caused "congestion" in many Russian banking systems. Later, Alibaba helped some banks to carry out technical transformation, communicate in advance and take preventive measures before the big promotion activities. In the "Double Eleven" in 2016, Russian buyers generally reported that online payment was very smooth.

Change has occurred not only in Russian enterprises, but also in the lives of ordinary Russians.

Alibaba found a problem from the beginning. Russians not only don’t like online shopping, but even online shopping basically adopts cash on delivery, which shows that they don’t trust e-commerce. Nowadays, in order to buy goods from China online, many Russians have set up bank cards and learned to pay online. Under the service guarantee of Alibaba, Russian consumers gradually accepted the payment before delivery.

Towards localization

At the beginning of 2017, Alibaba’s employees in Russia increased rapidly, and now it has reached 70 people, most of whom are Russians. Localization is a new business launched by Ali this year, which is also the reason why Liu Wei came to Moscow.

In the past few years, most of the purchases made by Russian buyers on the AliExpress platform were cross-border China goods. Ali is selling more and more local goods to Russians to localize goods and businesses.

Liu Wei said that local goods include two categories: one is goods produced locally by Russian enterprises; The second category is the goods of foreign enterprises with branches and stocks in Russia, such as products of companies such as Apple, Huawei, Lenovo and Samsung.

Localization has greatly shortened the arrival time. It takes at least 20 days for a parcel from China to arrive. At present, buyers in big cities such as Moscow buy local goods such as electronic products, clothing, electrical appliances and maternal and child products, and they can arrive the next day.

The developed e-commerce in China has not only cultivated a huge online shopping crowd, but also helped countless small and medium-sized enterprises to develop and grow with the help of online sales. Today, Alibaba’s successful experience in China is being copied to Russian.

Russian enterprises are not strong in brand awareness and e-commerce awareness, which is precisely an opportunity for Ali.

Liu Wei said that in Russia, many businesses don’t know how to sell things online, how to release goods, set prices, do marketing and solve logistics. Alibaba selects some high-quality businesses to cooperate and create a benchmarking effect. In the initial stage, merchants only need to provide goods, and Alibaba is responsible for online sales and logistics.

At present, some Russian companies have settled in AliExpress, involving furniture, clothing, small household appliances and other industries. Alibaba hopes that these businesses can master online sales skills through the cooperation with AliExpress, which will not only expand their share in the Russian market, but also go to China, Europe and even the global market.

Great potential for cooperation

In Moscow, China elements are everywhere, from China tourists on Moscow’s Red Square, China commodities in Liu Blinault Market to Huawei experience stores on Tver Street. In Kazan, 800 kilometers away, it is not easy to search for China elements.

Kazan is the capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan. Before Haier came here in 2014, the foreign capital sources in the Republic of Tatarstan were mainly the United States, Germany and Turkey, and the local government didn’t know much about China and China.

Haier’s development in Russia is a process from adaptation to change. Adaptation mainly caters to the living habits of Russian consumers; The change is the change of local investment environment and industrial structure.

Many refrigerators sold by Haier in the Russian market are two meters high, which is to adapt to the narrow space of Russian kitchens. There is a folding shelf in the refrigerator to place the big soup pot.

When Haier came to Tatarstan, there was already a local refrigerator manufacturer here. The Russian company is worried about the arrival of a multinational giant like Haier.

The Investment and Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan believes that this is normal market competition, and Haier has brought advanced technology and high-quality products, which will help promote local enterprises to improve production efficiency and product quality.

Localization is the goal pursued by Haier. In terms of personnel, Haier has achieved localization. Haier Refrigerator Factory has recruited more than 500 local workers and sent them to China for training in batches. With the support of the local government, Haier has also established a training center for skilled workers, where local residents can apply to learn welding and other technologies for free.

After the refrigerator factory was officially put into operation last year, Haier is currently planning to establish a new factory to produce washing machines, televisions and other products. Haier’s investment and development have deepened the local government’s understanding of enterprises in China, and also strengthened the efforts to attract investment from China. President Minnihanov of the Republic of Tatarstan has repeatedly asked officials to try to introduce more China enterprises. In the past two years, more and more Tatarstan officials and entrepreneurs have come to China, on the one hand, to learn about China’s culture and business model, and on the other hand, to find partners.

Liu Huaqin said that China’s manufacturing industry is developed and Russia is rich in resources. The cooperation between the two sides is complementary and has broad prospects. However, the problem now is that there is more cooperation promoted by the government and less spontaneous behavior by the people. Some successful experiences of China can provide reference for Russia and help it make progress in opening up and marketization.

Looking forward to the future, the tide of Sino-Russian cooperation will continue to accumulate strength. Expect more changes and wait for greater gains.

(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 3rd)