HARBIN, March 17 -- China's cabinet has approved a bonded zone in Heilongjiang Province, which borders Russia.

Covering more than three square km in Xiangfang District of provincial capital Harbin, the zone is designed for customs clearance, bonded processing, bonded logistics and trade services, said an official with Harbin Business Bureau on Thursday.

Construction of the zone is under way, and it is scheduled to start operating this year.

"The zone will serve as a new platform for economic and trade cooperation with Russia, and help build a high-end industry cluster to process import and export products in machinery manufacturing, biomedicine and food," according to the official.

A supplementary logistics center will also be established to encourage trade between the province and Northeast Asia, he said.

China's northeast used to be an industrial hub, but declining resources and industrial overcapacity have hit the region hard, prompting provinces including Heilongjiang to seek new growth engines.

Heilongjiang's economy grew in 2015 by 5.7 percent, 1.2 percentage points lower than the national level.