HARBIN, March 22 -- Suifenhe City on the frontier with Russia in Heilongjiang province has launched an exchange program for young Chinese and Russian people.

The program links provincial capital Harbin, the Russian city of Vladivostok, and Suifenhe to promote tourism, economic cooperation and trade relations, Suifenhe authorities announced on Friday.

Suifenhe will hold activities every month this year, including an arts festival, summer camps, and a Halloween party. The Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok will hold an open day. The border city already has sporting and acadmic exchange programs with Russia.

Suifenhe thrives through trade with Russia. In 2013, it became the first Chinese city authorized to use the rouble alongside the renminbi.