The city was notified by the Russian side on Monday that Russia had lifted its restrictions on the exit and entry of Chinese and Russians, said Lan Guogang, deputy director of port affairs office of Heilongjiang Province.

Lan said Russia agreed to let Chinese citizens enter Russia from Suifenhe, and Russian businessmen and tourists were also allowed to enter China through Suifenhe.

Lan said people from and to both countries still had to undergo temperature checks and necessary medical inquiries, and fill in health forms.

Anyone whose body temperature exceeded 37.5 degrees Celsius should accept a medical examination immediately and would be sent to designated hospitals for quarantine and further medical observation, he said.

Medical staff and examination and protection equipment were in place in Suifenhe while vehicles and customs buildings were disinfected every day.

More than 1,700 people crossed the border through Suifenhe Monday, the largest number since May, according to customs statistics.

Since early May, Russia had imposed very strict restrictions on cross-border movements with China amid fears of spreading severe respiratory syndrome (SARS). Border freight dropped more than 30 percent year on year and the number of people crossing fell by about 60 percent through Suifenhe.

Suifenhe is one of China's biggest port cities along the China-Russia border in the east. The annual freight to Russia via Suifenhe accounts for 80 percent of Heilongjiang Province's total exports to Russia while some 2,000 people cross border via Suifenhe every day in normal times.

To date, except for Suifenhe and another port city of Heihe, other border ports in the province have remained closed or restricted.

(Xinhua News Agency June 10, 2003)