"We asked the Heilonghiang (northern Chinese) province to prepare a cooperation deal with the Sverdlovsk region so that Chinese can come and work on our uncultivated land," administration spokesmen Anatoly Fioktistov told AFP.

Almost 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of abandoned land need to be cultivated in the Sverdlovsk region, he said, adding that if it was left for more than five years, weeds would grow and extra work would be necessary to make it cultivate it again.

Russia would insist that the Chinese farmers "sell their harvest locally", Fioktistov said.

The region, with a shrinking population like many others in Russia, has a severe shortage of farmers to work its land, despite a bonus of 1,200 rubles (35 euros, 45 dollars) offered per hectare to each Russian prepared to take up the challenge.

The local government website said that 56 local farm businesses had gone bankrupt and added that the community could benefit from traditional Chinese pig breeding and vegetable growing.

China already has many small businesses in Siberia, on the borders of its territory, and also has a project to exploit one million hectares of forest in the western Siberian region of Tioumen.

The Asian giant is also eyeing up immense hydrocarbon resources in the region that it would like to exploit.