Exclusive | China’s land links with Mongolia will run 24/7, opening up greater access to critical coal
- Land-locked Mongolia is bolstering ties with major trade and economic partner China
- Infrastructure and customs-clearance procedures will be expedited in trade after Mongolia learned pandemic lessons
Mongolia plans to increase its number of 24-hour ports and transport links along the border with China, pinning economic-growth hopes on the post-Covid recovery on its southern neighbour, according to a high-ranking Mongolian official.
Port recovery is “one of the pillars” of Mongolia’s economic development, according to the minister in charge of road and transport development, Byambatsogt Sandag, and the country “intends to expose all ports, connect them by road and rail”.
“In the future, we will make Gashuunsukhait, Hangi, Bichigt and Bulgan ports 24-hour operational, which is important for the further expansion of trade and economic cooperation between [China and Mongolia],” he said in a written response to the Post.
Sandag was one of the ministers of the Mongolian delegation that visited China by joining the World Economic Forum held in the northern port city of Tianjin between June 27 and 29.
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During the visit, Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene and Minister of Border Port Recovery B. Tulga met with director general of the General Administration of Customs, Zhao Zenglian, and they discussed the 24-hour operation of the Zamin-Uud and Erlian ports.
All-day operations will also extend to other ports on the 4,700km (2,920-mile) land border between the two countries.
Both governments aim to develop ports, which Sandag described as an “air vent” that opens occasionally now but will become more akin to a “door” that is always open.
The closer bilateral economic relations came as Mongolia launched its “New Recovery” policy in 2021, which aims to spur investment in areas such as energy, border ports, industrialisation, urban and rural recovery, green development, and public sector efficiency.
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Small and landlocked Mongolia relies on China for a range of investments, while China sees the other side as a key node in its trade with Central Asia.
Total trade value from Mongolia to China reached US$4.2 billion for the first quarter, surging 1.7 times year on year, according to Mongolian official data. Coal comprises 63 per cent of Mongolian exports.
During the Mongolian prime minister’s visit to China, the contract for the eastern region railway construction was signed for US$1.8 billion, according to Sandag.
“Within the framework of the development of the eastern railway corridor, a major construction project is being started to renovate the railway line from the Russian-Mongolian border to Ereentsav-Choibalsan, and to construct a new railway from Choibalsan to the Mongolian-Chinese Bichigt-Zunkhatavch port,” he added.
“In this regard, the eastern railway corridor connecting Mongolia-Russia-China will be created, and our country will have the second railway corridor connecting Asia and Europe.”
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Mongolia’s railway in the eastern region is planned to be 420km long, running through Choibalsan, the fourth-largest city, to the Khuut coal mine and Bichigt, the border-crossing station.
Sumiya Chuluunbaatar, a non-resident fellow at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of International Studies, said the construction of railways in these southern regions of Mongolia is one of the most critical factors in becoming “a land-connected country”.
“During the epidemic, the Mongolian people felt the importance of building infrastructure and customs-clearance capabilities,” he added.
Chuluunbaatar explained that a work delegation from China’s Liaoning province paid a visit to Mongolia recently, as they want to turn Liaoning ports such as Dalian and Jinzhou into “Mongolia’s new Tianjin Port”, which requires railway construction in eastern Mongolia and a connection with Northeast China.
There is a great need for Mongolia, Russia and China to expand their road and rail corridors … to learn from China
Sandag said in his written response that the development of the road and transport sector is the “lifeblood of the economy” because the development of other sectors depends on the “infrastructure, accessibility, quality of services, transparency and speed”.
“In terms of new infrastructure, there is a great need for Mongolia, Russia and China to expand their road and rail corridors, to have new corridors, to connect their ports, to learn from China’s urban planning and infrastructure experience in reducing congestion in Ulaanbaatar, and to attract investment in this area,” he noted.
Trade between China and Mongolia via Ganqmod Port in Inner Mongolia – the largest highway port between China and Mongolia – cleared nearly 8 million tonnes worth of goods in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of more than four times from last year, Xinhua reported.
The volume of imported coal from Mongolia was 7.68 million tonnes, up 525.4 per cent year on year, the Chinese media added, while imports of refined copper powder grew by 12.2 per cent year on year to 201,200 tonnes.
“Trucks and food shipments from China to Russia are increasing,” Sandag said. “We are inviting both Russian and Chinese sides to the construction of the Eastern Region Railway Corridor.”
Kh. Baatarkhuu, a Mongolian author and one of the participants of the delegation to China joining the World Economic Forum, called the resolution on operating checkpoints along the border between both countries “very important”.
“If there is an increase of specific railroads to connect the ports, the amount of coal exported from Mongolia will at least double in size,” he added.
