Russian loans started to flow into Chinese from the establishment of Russian-Chinese trade contacts in the late 17th century, following the signing of the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689) and their further regularization by the Treaty of Kyakhta (1727). At the end of the 19th century Russian loans became even more numerous due to the first phase of construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (1897–1903) which linked Sibera and northeast China. This period of more than two hundred years of close border…