Relax border to help region

Regional experts from China and Russia yesterday suggested both governments further loosen policies on immigration and trade to bridge the economic disparities facing residents on both sides of the border amid the worst financial crisis in decades.

"Previously, local governments on the Chinese side were more active in promoting trade. But now, I think both sides need a new mindset to revitalize the Far Eastern region," Xing Guangcheng, a senior regional scholar, said during a teleconference between Chinese and Russian scholars at the Russian News and Information Agency in Beijing yesterday.

Yury Golubchikov, a regional and population expert with the research institute of the Russian Chamber of Accounts, said Moscow should rethink its approach.