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<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD JATS (Z39.96) Journal Archiving and Interchange DTD v1.4 20241031//EN" "https://jats.nlm.nih.gov/archiving/1.4/JATS-archive-oasis-article1-4-mathml3.dtd">
<article xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" article-type="research-article" xml:lang="en"><front><journal-meta><issn publication-format="print">2072-6414</issn><issn publication-format="electronic">2411-1406</issn></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.17059/ekon.reg.2026-3-7</article-id><title-group xml:lang="en"><article-title>Cross-Border E-Commerce as a Driver of Investment  in China–Russia Border Regions</article-title></title-group><title-group xml:lang="ru"><article-title>Трансграничная онлайн-торговля как фактор привлечения инвестиций  в приграничных регионах России и Китая</article-title></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1239-9885</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Yu </surname><given-names>Qin</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Юй </surname><given-names>Цинь</given-names></name></name-alternatives><email>yuqin@cass.org.cn</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff-alternatives id="aff1"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Институт России, Восточной Европы и Центральной Азии Китайской академии общественных наук</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><pub-date date-type="pub" publication-format="electronic" iso-8601-date="2026-09-29"><day>29</day><month>09</month><year>2026</year></pub-date><pub-date date-type="collection" iso-8601-date="2026-09-29"><day>29</day><month>09</month><year>2026</year></pub-date><volume>22</volume><issue>3</issue><fpage>567</fpage><lpage>578</lpage><history><date date-type="received" iso-8601-date="2026-02-13"><day>13</day><month>02</month><year>2026</year></date><date date-type="accepted" iso-8601-date="2026-07-03"><day>03</day><month>07</month><year>2026</year></date></history><permissions><copyright-statement xml:lang="en">Copyright © 2026 Qin Yu</copyright-statement><copyright-statement xml:lang="ru">Copyright © 2026 Цинь Юй</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2026</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Qin Yu</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Цинь Юй</copyright-holder><ali:free_to_read/><license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><license-p>CC BY 4.0</license-p></license></permissions><self-uri content-type="html" mimetype="text/html" xlink:title="article webpage" xlink:href="https://economyofregions.org/ojs/index.php/er/article/view/1508">https://economyofregions.org/ojs/index.php/er/article/view/1508</self-uri><self-uri content-type="pdf" mimetype="application/pdf" xlink:title="article pdf" xlink:href="https://economyofregions.org/ojs/index.php/er/article/download/1508/1553">https://economyofregions.org/ojs/index.php/er/article/download/1508/1553</self-uri><abstract xml:lang="en"><p> Digital intelligence is transforming China–Russia economic cooperation, resulting in the growing significance of cross-border e-commerce as a driver of investment in border regions. This study aims to examine how cross-border e-commerce influences investment and identify pathways for strengthening regional investment attractiveness. Using a multiple-case study of Hunchun, Heihe, Suifenhe, and Manzhouli, the study draws on policy documents, official statistics, local government and industrial park materials, company and platform information, industry reports, and media sources. The findings show that cross-border e-commerce stimulates investment not only by expanding trade, but also by reshaping investor expectations and factor allocation. Three mechanisms are identified: digital consumption stimulates marketing and service investment; fulfilment requirements drive investment in logistics, warehousing, customs clearance, and payment infrastructure; and platform ecosystems foster supporting industries and services. Based on these findings, the study proposes four pathways for investment promotion: expectation management, institutional co-evolution, ecosystem agglomeration, and spatial differentiation. The study highlights the emerging investment effects of digital trade and provides insights into the transformation of economic cooperation in China–Russia border regions.</p></abstract><abstract xml:lang="ru"><p>Развитие цифровых технологий существенно влияет на экономическое сотрудничество между Россией и Китаем, повышая значимость трансграничной электронной торговли как фактора привлечения инвестиций в приграничные регионы. Цель данного исследования — изучить влияние трансграничной электронной торговли на инвестиции и определить пути повышения инвестиционной привлекательности регионов. На основе метода множественных кейсов исследуются портовые города Хуньчунь, Хэйхэ, Суйфэньхэ и Маньчжурия. Исследование включает анализ программных документов, официальной статистики, материалов местных органов власти и промышленных парков, сведений о компаниях и платформах, отраслевых отчётов и данных СМИ. Показано, что трансграничная электронная торговля способствует привлечению инвестиций не только за счёт расширения объёмов торговли, но и за счет изменений в ожиданиях инвесторов и характере распределения факторов производства. Выделяются три механизма, благодаря которым это происходит: цифровые формы потребления стимулируют инвестиции в маркетинг и сервисные услуги; рост ожиданий заказчиков побуждает поставщиков вкладывать средства в логистику, складское хозяйство, таможенное оформление и платёжные системы, а развитие платформенных экосистем, в свою очередь, стимулирует развитие сопутствующих отраслей и сервисных систем. На основе этих выводов предложены четыре способа привлечения инвестиций: управление ожиданиями, институциональная коэволюция, кластеризация экосистем и пространственная дифференциация. Таким образом, исследование освещает механизмы влияния цифровой торговли на инвестиционные процессы и расширяет наше понимание трансформаций в китайско-российском экономическом сотрудничестве в приграничных регионах.</p></abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>cross-border e-commerce</kwd><kwd>digital trade</kwd><kwd>Sino-Russia border regions</kwd><kwd>investment attractiveness</kwd><kwd>Sino-Russia economic cooperation</kwd><kwd>regional economy</kwd></kwd-group><kwd-group xml:lang="ru"><kwd>трансграничная электронная коммерция</kwd><kwd>цифровая торговля</kwd><kwd>китайско-российские приграничные регионы</kwd><kwd>инвестиционная привлекательность</kwd><kwd>китайско-российское экономическое сотрудничество</kwd><kwd>региональная экономика</kwd></kwd-group></article-meta></front><body/><back><ack xml:lang="en"><p>This research is an intermediate outcome of the innovation project “Multilateral and Regional Cooperation Mechanisms and Governance in Eurasia: From the Perspective of Regionalism and Regional Governance” at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Project No. 2024EOYB03).</p></ack><ack xml:lang="ru"><p>Настоящее исследование является промежуточным результатом инновационного проекта «Механизмы и практика управления многосторонним и региональным сотрудничеством в Евразии: взгляд с позиции регионализма и регионального управления», который реализуется в Институте исследований России, Восточной Европы и Центральной Азии Китайской академии общественных наук (номер проекта: 2024EOYB03).</p></ack><ref-list><ref id="en-ref1"><label>1</label><mixed-citation xml:lang="en">Acs, Z. 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