Plans to hand a stretch of remote Siberian territory to Chinese investors have triggered a storm of protest in Russia, underlining how a relationship hailed by the leaders of both countries is being undermined by deep-rooted distrust.
将一大块偏僻的西伯利亚土地交给中国投资者的计划在俄罗斯引发了一场抗议风暴，突显出两国领导人欢呼的双边关系正受到深层次不信任的影响。
The government of Zabaikalsky Krai, one of the country’s poorest regions, signed a preliminary agreement this month under which Hua’e Xingbang, a private Chinese company, would gain control of more than 1,000 sq km of idle land bordering China on a 49-year lease for Rbs24bn ($440m).
外贝加尔边疆区(Zabaikalsky Krai)是俄罗斯最贫穷的地区之一。按照该区政府本月签署的初步协议，中国民营企业华俄兴邦(Hua’e Xingbang)将租用一块毗邻中国、面积1000多平方公里的闲置土地，租期49年，租金240亿卢布（合4.40亿美元）。
Yet when the plan was made public, Russian politicians and media warned it could lead to an annexation of Russian lands by Beijing.
然而，该计划公布后，俄罗斯政界人士和媒体纷纷警告称，它可能导致北京方面吞并俄罗斯土地。
“This deal poses huge political risks, particularly to Russia’s territorial integrity,” said Igor Lebedev, a deputy speaker of the Duma, the lower house of parliament. “The contract must not be signed.
“这笔交易带来巨大的政治风险，尤其是对俄罗斯的领土完整而言，”俄罗斯国家杜马（即联邦会议下议院）副议长伊戈尔?列别捷夫(Igor Lebedev)表示。“这份合同不能签。”
“They will bring in scores of Chinese. Then 20 or 30 years from now the -Chinese government will demand those lands be given to China because all those Chinese people live there,” he added.
“他们将导致大量中国人涌入。然后，20、30年后，中国政府将要求把这些土地划归中国，因为所有这些中国人已在那里安家，”他补充说。
While Mr Lebedev’s nationalist Liberal-Democratic party often employs rhetoric that is hostile to non-Russians, his outrage has been widely echoed.
尽管列别捷夫所在的具有民族主义倾向的自由民主党经常发表敌视非俄罗斯人的言论，但他的愤怒得到了广泛呼应。
Vladimir Pozdnyakov, a Communist party deputy from Zabaikalsky Krai, also expressed concerns that the proposed investment could become a Trojan Horse for China to overrun Russia’s sparsely populated eastern Siberian and Far Eastern regions.
来自外贝加尔边疆区的共产党议员弗拉基米尔?波兹尼亚科夫(Vladimir Pozdnyakov)也表示担忧，称拟议中的投资可能会变成一个特洛伊木马，让中国侵占俄罗斯人烟稀少的西伯利亚东部和远东地区。
Only 5.4m live in the five Russian regions neighbouring China, while the two Chinese provinces across the border have a combined population of 63m.
与中国接壤的五个俄罗斯地区加起来只有540万居民，而边界另一侧的两个中国省份的总人口达到6300万。
Mr Pozdnyakov suggested the move could destroy the local environment. “We have more than enough experience with that. Where they have planted, the land is dead. Nothing will grow for years,” he warned.
波兹尼亚科夫提出，此举还可能破坏当地环境。“我们在这方面有足够多的经验。他们耕种的地方，土地都活不了。多年里什么都长不出来，”他警告。
Critics also fear it could lead to local farmers being squeezed out because as well as exporting produce back to China, the Chinese farms could sell it more cheaply on the domestic market.
批评者还担心，此举可能挤压当地农民，因为除了向中国出口以外，中资农场还可能以更便宜的价格在俄罗斯国内市场销售产品。
Chinese investors have been scouring Russia for opportunities to buy land for agricultural production since the rouble depreciated in December.
自卢布在去年12月贬值以来，中国投资者一直在俄罗斯寻觅购买土地进行农业生产的机会。
The controversy comes as Russia is forced into making concessions to Chinese investors, including over control of natural resource assets. Russia needs Chinese funds to replace a shortfall caused by western sanctions.
这场争议发酵之际，俄罗斯被迫向中国投资者作出让步，其中包括自然资源资产的控制权。俄罗斯需要中国资金以弥补西方制裁所造成的缺口。
Konstantin Ilkovsky, governor of Zabaikalsky region, has defended the land sale by saying no Russians were willing to cultivate land in his region.
外贝加尔边疆区领导人康斯坦丁?伊尔科夫斯基(Konstantin Ilkovsky)为这笔租地交易进行了辩护，称俄罗斯没有人愿意耕种那个地区的土地。
Russia’s political leadership has also recognised the dilemma.
俄罗斯的政治领导层也意识到了这一两难境地。
“We do not have enough population,” Sergei Ivanov, Mr Putin’s chief of staff, conceded in an interview this month. “If a Chinese investor wants to cultivate virgin land 200km from the border and grow vegetables there — so do it, for god’s sake.”
“我们的人口不够，”普京的幕僚长谢尔盖?伊万诺夫(Sergei Ivanov)本月在接受采访时承认。“如果中国投资者想要耕种距离边界200公里的荒地，在那里种植蔬菜——那就这么做吧，看在上帝的份上。”
Russian president Vladimir Putin has pushed for closer ties with Beijing in response to Moscow’s fallout with the west. He and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have held numerous summits since the start of the Ukraine crisis and claimed that their relations are better than ever.
针对莫斯科方面与西方翻脸，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔?普京(Vladimir Putin)推动与北京方面建立更紧密的联系。自乌克兰危机开始以来，他和中国国家主席习近平已多次举行峰会，还声称他们的关系比以往任何时候都更好。
Liu Changgui, legal representative of Hua’e Xingbang, declined to comment on the planned Russia deal and the backlash against it.
对于计划中的俄罗斯交易及其引发的反弹，华俄兴邦的法定代表人刘昌贵不愿置评。