New main communication channel launched between Russia and China

Megafon and the Chinese telecom operator China Telecom have launched a new backbone communication channel between Khabarovsk and Hong Kong. According to the press service of the Russian company, now the traffic from the user to the services takes a shortened route without having to cross several countries to get to China.

Previously, traffic to a number of Chinese services took a longer route: from a user from Russia through European transport hubs and only then to China. Users from Siberia and the Far East could feel the delay, despite the geographical proximity of these regions to China.

Now, data is transmitted directly to the infrastructure of China Telecom via the Khabarovsk—Hong Kong channel. As a result, response time is reduced and connection stability is improved in services where latency is particularly noticeable, including messengers, marketplaces, and gaming platforms.
Alexey Titov, Technical Director of Megafon, noted that the Asian region is becoming as important a destination for the Russian telecom market as the Western one. "User interest in Chinese messengers and marketplaces is growing: traffic in the first quarter of 2026 increased by almost 50% year-on-year. We are developing a system of alternative destinations that improves the reliability and quality of infrastructure, including for users in the eastern part of the country," he stressed.

According to the Russian company, it is strengthening direct traffic exchange routes with key networks around the world to ensure stable access to popular Asian digital services, including WeChat, Baidu, Taobao, AliExpress and others.