Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law ratifying the intergovernmental agreement with China for the joint construction of a second main line of 1,435 mm gauge on the Zabaikalsk–Manzhouli border section.

Under the document, the two countries will carry out the works jointly and in a synchronized way. The ratified document appears on Russia’s official legislative information portal. The ratification is presented as a step forward in Russia’s “eastward pivot” toward China, in the SCMP’s assessment.