Clifford Faust, a professor at the University of North Carolina, comprehensively covers the history of the establishment of trade and diplomatic relations between the two great empires after the signing of the Treaty of Kyakhta. The author tells how state monopolies operated, what goods were considered strategic, and how the permission of private trade influenced the development of Eastern Siberia and the economy of the state as a whole. Professor Faust notes that Russian traders not only had foresight and business acumen, but also knew a special approach that took into account the national character traits of the eastern man, which, in unusually difficult business conditions, made it possible to invariably make a profit and maintain diplomatic relations with both the indigenous population of the borderland , and with the official authorities of the Celestial Empire. To summarize, the historian reports that the increase in trade turnover with China gave impetus to the development of business activity in Russia, and customs duties from private border trade became the main source of cash receipts to the state treasury.