The role of the border city Hunchun on Tumen River, China

Abstract

Since the Tumen River Area Development Project(TRADP) was launched in 1991, Hunchun city located between North Korea and Russia along the river corridor, has become an important and unique border city. Hunchun, formerly a strategic military city, is emerging as an international trade linkage center through Satouz and Quanhe on the North Korea side and through Changlinzi on the Russian side. Furthermore, the establishment and operation of the Hunchun Border Economic Cooperation Zone (HBECZ) in the city is becoming the main source of the growth, providing a new role for the border city. Its underlying economic momentum comes from the combination of the Chinese-Korean labor force and foreign investment and technology transferred from Korea, Japan, and others.

The most important expected new role for Hunchun is as a new 21st century entrepot connection between the Pacific rim and Eurasia by rail and trunk lines, and as a new regional center of the border region based on both a newly generated urban subsystem and the increasing informal sector of cross border business. However, there are many obstacles to overcome in the near future, such as the possible military tensions among the three border nations, the guarantee of free entries and sailing on the Tumen river, and agreements concerning environmental conservation.