麻豆社

We venture into an under-explored and under-exploited corner of the globe - Russia's Far East. Moscow has been pulling out the stops recently, planning new pipelines, a new bridge, and new tourism, all aimed at wooing the Chinese from across the border to the south. Ever since the advent of western sanctions against Russia in 2014, there has been a clear strategic need to promote Asian trade. But two years on, is there any evidence that it is really happening?

We hear a report from Vladivostok on the boom in cross-border Chinese tourism, from Hans-Paul Buerkner, chairman of the Boston Consulting Group, who is very positive about the potential for trade development, and from John Lough, an associate fellow with the Russia and Eurasia programme at the London think tank, Chatham House, who is not. Also, we hear from two recent Russian graduates in Vladvostok, the regional capital, about the economic opportunities, and challenges, of living in one of the world's most cut-off major cities.

(Photo: Man holding Chinese and Russian flags, Credit: Getty Images)