A team of more than 30 experts from China and Russia completed a 26 day scientific investigation in the Lake Baikal, Siberiaand Altai Regionregions in Russia. The activity took place from the 2^nd to the 27^th September 2019.

Professor Dong Suocheng, from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), led the scientific investigation. The team visited the areas of the Russian Federation adjacent to China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, which include Irkutsk Oblast, Novosibirsk Oblast, Republic of Buryatia, Republic of Altai, Altai Krai, and Republic of Tuva.

The investigation covered more than 10,000 kilometers, examining numerous geographical and environmental factors such as water, soil, climate and vegetation. Major environmental problems and ecological risks were examined, as were the extent of natural resources, the urbanization and infrastructure situation, and information on the socio-economic and investment environment in key regions.

In addition, experts went to the Istomino international ecological station, the agricultural meteorological station that has existed for one hundred years in Tulun city, and the botanical garden and nature reserve in the Republic of Altai. They studied the types and distribution of plant species in the area, and discussed the methods for protecting of World Natural Heritage.

The investigation team visited Bratsk Hydropower Station, Russia's third largest hydropower station, and investigated its construction and operation. The station was built in tandem with Bratsk city, where hydropower development provided an ideal complement to the area’s non-ferrous metallurgical industrial complex. The area’s success was a miracle of the former Soviet Union's socialist construction.

During the investigation, experts attended an international conference called “GEOGRAPHY IN THE SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF ASIAN RUSSIA: CHALLENGES, RISKS AND SOLUTIONS” on 3^rd-5^th September 2019.

As a specially invited scholar from China, Professor Dong gave a keynote report entitled “Review of 15 Years of Joint Scientific Exploration and Green Cooperation in the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor”.

He described the achievements of China-Mongolia-Russia scientific exploration during the past 15 years and discussed the green development cooperation model for the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor.

At the meeting, Academician Arnold Tulokhonov, on behalf of the Russian Academy of Physical Sciences, announced that Professor Dong Suocheng had been officially elected as the Foreign Corresponding Academician of the Russian Academy of Physical Sciences and presented Professor Dong with the Corresponding Academician Certificate.

On 6^th September, Professor Dong and Professor Garmaev Endon Zhamyanovich, Director of the Baikal Institute of Natural Management, Siberian Branch, Russian Acedemy of Sciences (SB RAS), signed an agreement for the joint construction of an experimental demonstration field station for ecological restoration and disaster prevention and control technology along the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor.

The two sides also established cooperation mechanisms for basic support, maintenance and operation, daily management, ecological environmental monitoring, sampling and testing, and sharing of results and data.

The joint China-Russia scientific investigation and scholarly visits helped to further strengthen the scientific and technological cooperation of the two sides in the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor. These activities also provided scientific and technological support for joint construction projects bringing together the Eurasian Union of Russia and the Silk Road Economic Belt of China.

Members of the investigation team were from IGSNRR CAS, the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology CAS, Beijing Jiaotong University, the Baikal Institute of Natural Management SB RAS, the V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography SB RAS, the Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering SB RAS, and the Institute of Water and Ecology SB RAS.