Russia's Far East to test drones and unmanned trucks for trade with China 

Aug 17 (Reuters) - Drones and self-driving trucks could soon be ferrying goods between China and Russia's Far East, a Russian regional official said on Monday, as brisk cross-border trade prompts a search for new forms of cargo transport to avoid bottlenecks.

Russia's Amur region, which shares a long border with China, is developing the trial programmes in partnership with Chinese authorities, the regional government's deputy chairman, Pavel Puzanov, told a business forum in the city of Kazan.

China has thrown a major economic lifeline to Russia since it was hit by sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, buying Russian oil, coal and gas and selling goods from cars to electronics to its neighbour.

The rapid growth is pressuring border checkpoints and existing logistics infrastructure.

PROJECTS INCLUDE A DRONE BRIDGE ACROSS BORDER RIVER 

One of the trial programmes involves establishing a so-called drone bridge between the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk and the Chinese city of Heihe, which face each other across the Amur river. The drones would ship high-margin cargo such as electronic components weighing up to 50 kg (110 pounds), Puzanov said.

A second project, developed by Russian autonomous driving firm Navio, would allow driverless Chinese trucks to transport heavier freight between the two cities. Cross-border test runs with a safety driver in the cabin are scheduled for 2027, with fully autonomous operations possible in 2028, according to a presentation at the forum.

China-Russia trade rose 26% year-on-year to $159 billion in January to July and could hit a record by the end of the year, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said at the event.

In January, Chinese data showed China's trade with Russia in 2025 pulled back from a record level in 2024 and dropped for the first time in five years.

For passengers, travelling between Blagoveshchensk and Heihe should become easier in 2027 with the launch of the world's first cross-border cable car, which promises to cut transit time to around five minutes, excluding border checks.

(Reporting by Reuters;Editing by Alessandra Prentice and Helen Popper)