The Life of Chinese Merchants in Moscow

An interesting video from the WSJ on Chinese traders in Moscow.

Cherkizovsky market was the closest thing to a Chinatown in Moscow. There were Chinese restaurants, grocery stores and endless rows of stalls where Chinese traders sold everything from Chinese manufactured sneakers and jeans to fur coats.

Last June, the market was shut down by the government. The estimated 50,000 Chinese merchants who worked there have relocated to a smaller market in the Southeastern corner of the city.

There are somewhere between 200, 000 and 400, 000 Chinese living in Russia today. The average Chinese migrant hails from Northern China, has lived in Russia for under 5 years and moved there to find a better job.

The Chinese merchants who work in the relocated market in Lyublino face tough business challenges, especially the huge gambles they take on relying on third-party cargo companies to import ‘gray’ goods and the risk of being shut down by the police and potentially having their goods seized. The video contains a short but fascinating interview with 65-year-old merchant Liu Xin.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 10:12 pm. It is filed under China, Geography, Retail, Video and tagged with Russia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.