China's Russian Maquilas - exporting pollution

 

China's

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proposal

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to relocate some of its production facilities to the Russian Far East has provoked heated debates among many experts. The proponents argue that the new investments will boost trans-border cooperation and generate many economic benefits in Russia's peripheral eastern region. 

 

Skeptics claim that environmental costs would outweigh the benefits given the fact that the industries selected for relocation would include "environmentally dirty" metallurgy, cement production and chemical plants particularly damaging for the biodiversity rich region, which is defined by pristine freshwater ecosystems and intact forest landscapes.

 

Russia's Ministry for Development of the Far East

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denied

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the validity of such concerns by insisting that all projects will be subject to Russia's environmental regulations, which are among the "most stringent in the world."

 

The optimism of the ministry's officials is not shared by environmentalists.

http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/244053161/will-chinese-factories-pollute-the-russian-far-east