OREANDA-NEWS Russia and China are set to establish a pilot zone to test the Russian GLONASS and Chinese BeiDou satellite navigation systems on passenger and freight transportation routes going through Kraskino - Hunchun and Poltavka - Dongning checkpoints on the border in Russia's Primorsky Territory, the Russian Transport Ministry said.

The issue was discussed during a meeting of a bilateral working group on road transport and roads. The meeting took place in the Chinese city of Chengdu.

"[Russian and Chinese] delegations appreciated the work carried out on the project of using GLOANSS and BeiDou navigation systems in the area of international road transportation. The sides agreed to create the pilot zone to test them on passenger and freight transportation routes, which pass through the Kraskino — Hunchun and Poltavka — Dongning checkpoints," the statement read.

The sides also discussed the possibility of opening a new international route going through Russia's Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Zabaykalsk cities and Chinese cities of Manzhouli, Yingkou and Dalian, according to the statement. GLONASS, a global navigation system operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces, consists of 27 satellites, 24 of which are operational. The system allows real-time positioning and speed data for surface, sea and airborne objects around the world.

BeiDou is composed of the space section, ground section and user section, with the space section containing five geostationary orbit satellites and 30 non-geostationary orbit satellites.