China-Russia cloud warehouse speeds up deliveries

HARBIN - A logistics base will be built in the border city of Suifenhe to cut the delivery time of Chinese goods bought online by Russian customers, according to local officials.

"It takes 30 to 45 days for an order placed in China to reach a purchaser in Russia, with shipping and customs clearance consuming most of that time," said Wei Lintao of the provincial trade bureau in northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

Suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, logistics providers and financiers from both countries will streamline online shopping so Russian customers will receive their goods within 20 days, Wei said.

Featuring cloud computing and the Internet of Things, the warehousing covers an area of 25,000 square meters with 115 million yuan ($19 million) in investment in the city's Border Economic Cooperation Zone.

Underdeveloped light industry in the vast territory of Russia's Far East has prompted people to use Chinese e-commerce platforms to meet their daily needs. Official data shows that at least $4 million worth of goods from Chinese online shopping sites arrive in Russia every day, and the figure is still rising.

Construction will begin in 2014.