China offers Mongolia helping hand to fight sandstorm challenge
- Premier Li Keqiang says environmental problems know no borders, as climate change and deforestation worsen air pollution
- Offer follows worst sandstorm in a decade which engulfed northern China and spread as far as the Korean peninsula
A sandstorm from southern Mongolia spread across East Asia in the middle of March, engulfing a huge swathe of northern China and also affecting the Korean peninsula. Local authorities said it was the worst in a decade, killing at least nine and leaving more than 80 people missing in Mongolia.
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Worst sandstorm in a decade hits Chinese capital, Beijing
Greenpeace East Asia says the frequency of sandstorms in Mongolia has increased in recent decades because of climate change and the long-term deforestation and soil erosion in the country’s south, leading to severe air pollution.
According to a government statement, Li said China was willing to maintain strategic communication with Mongolia and intensify cooperation on pandemic containment, while also calling for efforts to speed up the restoration of cargo volumes going through border ports and ensure progress of its major cooperative projects with Mongolia.
Li added China would closely monitor changes in the global economic situation while improving the domestic business environment and keeping economic growth steady, which he believed would offer the best chance for China-Mongolia cooperation.
Oyun-Erdene said Mongolia supported green development and regional economic cooperation and was willing to step up joint efforts in environmental protection, according to the Chinese statement.