Russian–Chinese agricultural cooperation in the Russian Far East

Abstract

The study analyzes the role of the Chinese factor in developing the agriculture of the southern regions of the Russian Far East. The role of Chinese labor migrants, business activity with Chinese capital, the state of agriculture, and socioeconomic development of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast are considered in the most detail. Insufficient official statistics and reported data determine the study's wide use of materials from federal agencies, regional executive authorities, various Internet sites, and interviews and information collected by the author during field research. It is shown that the involvement of Chinese labor migrants in agriculture facilitates the development and use of land; however, it has an insignificant effect on the regional economy, intensifies administrative problems of local agricultural producers, sharpens environmental prob lems, and indirectly decreases the quality of life of the population in the countryside. The basis for stabilizing the agricultural situation is the clear position of the authorities in achieving long term branch indices taking into account the support of local agricultural producers and regular monitoring of foreign business activity.

Socio-economic Impact of Chinese Agribusiness Entrepreneurs in Russian Far East on Local Farmers

“…The same situation takes place in RFE where local Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance) controls Chinese farms. In some cases they find banned chemical additives, fungicides, insecticides and other toxic chemicals or simply the ones that are impossible to be traced as they are not present in the range of particles investigated by Russian authorities (Mishchuk, 2016).…”

“…Vassilieva and Akaha (2005) show that there is a widespread fear among communities in the RFE about negative consequences of Chinese immigration for their economic well-being. Deterioration of the socio-economic development of rural areas in RFE is thought to be a negative effect of attracting Chinese migrants to agriculture in the Far East (Mishchuk, 2016). Chinese farmers in the RFE produce vegetables and after Chinese-US trade war started intensively cultivate soybean what made local arable land rental prices to increase what by some Russian household is used as speculation tool for increasing their income.…”

“…Media reports describe particular cases and focus on positive or negative aspects only, carefully narrating stories to match the article's aims, but miss a big picture of the socio-economic complex relationships in of Chinese-Russian agricultural cooperation (Solovchenkov et al, 2019;Ji, 2017). There are only two authors who analyzed in many publications Chinese presence in the RFE in details covering, demographic, ethnographic and cross-border aspects (Mishchuk, 2016;Zuenko, 2018). There is a low number of scientific publications, there is no reliable statistical data and no economical empirical studies about Chinese-Russian agricultural cooperation in the RFE.…”

Изменение Концентраций Тяжелых Металлов Почв Юга Среднеамурской Низменности При Длительном Сельскохозяйственном Использовании

“…Использован ные после аренды участки часто забрасывают, пы таясь получить взамен другие участки с менее де градированными почвами. Подобная ситуация складывается не только на Дальнем Востоке, но и в других регионах России, граничащих с Китаем (Забайкалье, Восточной Сибири) [5].…”

Problems of Development of Nonstandard Employment in Rural Areas of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast

“…Согласно результатам опросов, в сельской местности возможность получения отсрочки платежей в неблагоприятный год и выдача кредитов на льготных условиях могли бы увеличить численность предпринимателей в сфере сельскохозяйственной деятельности. Местные фермеры трудятся рядом с иностранными (в основном китайскими) и видят возможности конкурентов, обусловленные не только наличием лучшей техники, трудолюбивыми сотрудниками и лояльностью местной власти, но и заинтересованностью сопредельного государства в развитии бизнеса своих сограждан, проявляющейся, в том числе, и в выдаче кредитов под низкие проценты и льготные условия [18,22,44], что также не благоприятствует предпринимательской активности местного населения в сельской местности области.…”