Hunchun, a frontier city in China's Jilin province is playing a greater role in exchanges with neighboring countries, for example with Russia where its imports and exports were worth $365 million in 2014, according to the chinajilin.com on July 14.

Hunchun also did $35 million worth of business with the neighboring Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and $75 million with the Republic of Korea (ROK) in 2014 in more than 100 kinds of goods, such as vehicles, optic cable, daily-use items, and clothing in the Jan-June period.

It has three trade districts and zones – the Hunchun Border Economic Cooperation Zone, Hunchun Export Processing Zones, and China-Russia Border Trade District – for its exchanges, with the latter District seeing 150,000 Russian visitors in the past year. At the same time, its tourism and exports to Russia were worth $300 million.

In related news, 10 members of the city's bicycle club left on a two-day trip, on July 5, to DPRK, to mark the opening of a cross-border bicycle tour line.

Meanwhile, ties with ROK have been getting closer so China's Commerce Ministry recently approved a China-South Korea Industry Park in Hunchun.

It has also been improving its administration and has preferential policies to increase exchanges with neighboring countries and says it will continue its opening up.