"During this year"s China-Russia Expo, we observed a continued rise in Chinese companies" interest in Russian food, agricultural products, consumer goods, IT and artificial intelligence solutions, among other areas. Many enterprises are becoming more active on the ground, engaging in direct exchanges with their Russian counterparts," said Evgeny Bazhov, chief representative of Russian Export Center Joint Stock Co (REC) in China.

　　"China-Russia local cooperation has now entered a new, more pragmatic stage. There is a growing focus on long-term collaboration, industrial cooperation, and ways to jointly expand the market," Bazhov told the Global Times on Thursday.

　　Concrete progresses are also being made on major cooperation projects. The world"s first cross-border cable car at Heihe, Northeast China"s Heilongjiang Province, linking Blagoveshchensk, is on schedule to be unveiled by end of 2026, Russia"s TASS state news agency reported on Thursday.

　　The cable car will reduce the border crossing time to less than 10 minutes from a 30-minute-long boat ride across the Heilongjiang River, known as the Amur River in Russia.

　　"Construction of the cable is ongoing, and we plan to announce progress at key stages of the project"s construction," an official with the city told the Global Times on Thursday when contacted for comment on the progress of the project.

　　"While consolidating the foundation of traditional trade, localities of the two countries are fully leveraging their complementary advantages in resources and industries to accelerate the construction of a cross-border industrial chain collaboration system," said Song Kui, president of the Contemporary China-Russia Regional Economy Research Institute.

　　The two sides are also actively exploring and deepening cooperation in emerging fields such as the digital economy, green energy, and high-tech, Song told the Global Times on Thursday.