The industry is undergoing restructuring in the country but the reduction in capacity does not mean a reduction in production, he said.

High quality raw materials are still necessary as the move entails a shift to high quality steel and shutting down of the smaller and more polluting blast furnaces while switching to the newest, largest blast furnaces, he added.

China has been witnessing massive overcapacity in its iron and steel sector and has vowed to reduce capacity. It plans to eliminate 100 million tons to 150 million tons of crude steel capacity in the five years from 2016. In 2017 alone, the country slashed its crude steel production capacity by more than 50 million tons, exceeding its annual target, as part of efforts to improve the competitiveness of the bloated sector.

The country also phased out the production of 140 million tons of low-quality steel made from scrap metal last year.

The industry's profitability has substantially improved, with major steel producers' profits surging 613.6 percent, according to data from the China Iron and Steel Association.

According to Jacques, Rio Tinto is well-positioned to provide the right product with the right quality to the right customers.

On the other hand, eyeing the rapid development of electric vehicles and batteries, Rio Tinto said the company would focus more on metals like copper and aluminum.

Jean-Sebastien Jacques, CEO of Rio Tinto Group Plc
"As China shifts from fast speed development to high quality development, industries like electric cars will also drive up demand for copper and aluminum, and we believe such commodity demand will rise in the future as new energy vehicles will be prevalent on China's streets in seven to 10 years. As a multinational corporation, we aim to provide high quality products to meet the demand," he said.

Jacques, head of the world's second-biggest mining company, said China has been the company's biggest customer and Rio Tinto generates more than 44 percent of its global revenue from the country, supplying lots of products including copper and iron ore for steel, and bauxite for aluminum and diamonds.

Jacques said the mining group welcomes the Belt and Road Initiative, which would lead to infrastructure improvements and drive up demand including copper and aluminum, while providing a boost for companies in related sectors.

"Infrastructure is fundamental to global growth," he said adding that, "It underpins communities and builds nations. China has shown the world what can be achieved."

As a part of this project, construction of seven schools and one kindergarten began today (29 March) with non-refundable assistance from the Chinese Government.

Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co.,Ltd, has been selected as the project contractor. The company plans to complete construction of seven schools within a year.The project will be implemented in three stages, with funding worth approximately CNY150 million for 1st and 2nd stages.

This will be the first school using the Cambridge international educational standards in the Songinokhairkan district of Ulaanbaatar.

The 700MW power plant will make a significant contribution to reducing air pollution and dependence on energy imports, said Vice President of Financial Management/CFO of Erdenes Mongol G.Ganbold.

Ganbold told about the activities of subsidiaries of Erdenes Mongol LLC speaking at the sub-session of Mongolia Economic Forum 2018 themed ‘Development of Mining and Heavy Industry and Infrastructure.’

A repayment of 100 million USD was completed on October 31, 2017, with another 50 million USD paid last February. In line with a 2012 Cabinet resolution, DBM granted the loan to Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC. The company completed repayment of a loan from Chalco in 2017. ETT plans to export 10 million tons of coal in 2018, and roughly three million tons of coal has been sent to the Tsagaan Khad coal handling facility since the beginning of 2018.

Due to a lack of financing, residential construction projects in Ulaanbaatar, Gobi-Altai, Dundgobi, Orkhon and Khuvsgul provinces have been stopped. As State Housing Corporation's maximum financial liability has been reached, it has become impossible for the state-owned company to obtain additional loan financing. DBM is expected to provide financing of 54 billion MNT for the unfinished projects. Minister of Construction and Urban Development Kh. Badyelkhan said, “The construction work will be completed by November 2018.”

The Executive Board of the IMF completed the third review of Mongolia's performance on Wednesday under a program supported by a three-year extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility.

"Since the economic conditions have improved, the Mongolian authorities need to focus on long-term sustainable policies ... and make more efforts to diversify its economy," Resident Representative of the IMF to Mongolia Neil Saker said.

The IMF Executive Board approved the arrangement in 2017, in an amount equivalent to about 434.3 million U.S. dollars to support Mongolia's economic reform.

Mongolia, with a population of over three million and gross domestic product (GDP) of some 12 billion dollars, is heavily dependent on mining and commodities exports.

With the help of the IMF's program, Mongolia's GDP grew 5.1 percent year on year in 2017, compared to 1 percent for the previous year. The figure was higher than the 3.3 percent forecast by the IMF.

The IMF has predicted that Mongolia's GDP growth will reach 5 percent this year and 6.3 percent next year.

There was a risk global growth could fall "very quickly", WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo warned.

His comments follow the US and China announcing proposed tariffs against one another, as Washington and Beijing ramp up the rhetoric on trade.

The WTO now faced one of its toughest periods, Mr Azevedo said.

Last week US President Donald Trump announced proposed tariffs on $60bn worth of Chinese goods.

Beijing responded saying it was not afraid of a trade war, but that negotiations should remain open.

The US has since said it was "cautiously hopeful" that the two economic giants could come to an agreement on trade issues.

'Serious'
Mr Azevedo told the BBC's HardTalk program that while a global trade war had not yet been initiated, the world was "seeing the first movements towards it".

Earlier this month the US announced broader tariffs on steel and aluminium imports which affected many nations including China. Beijing responded with its own set of proposed tariffs.

The scale of damage done to the global economy, and its rate of expansion, would depend on what the trade war encompassed, Mr Azevedo said.

"If it's just limited to steel and aluminium, it's one thing. If you're talking about hundreds and thousands of products, it's a completely different thing. And the impact will be significantly different."

But he said there was little doubt that the trade clash was a "big problem".

"I don't think anybody believes that this is something minor, even in the US administration.

"These conversations are ongoing precisely because people are beginning to understand, I hope, how serious this is and the kind of impact this could have to the global economy."

'Catastrophe'
Washington has also has launched a complaint against China for breaking basic patent rights rules at the WTO - a body that Mr Trump has said is a "catastrophe" and "a disaster" for the US.

Mr Azevedo said the clashes between the US and China were some of the most difficult moments the WTO had faced in its 23 year history.

"If not the toughest, one of the toughest, yes for sure," he said.

"Given the nature of the challenges before the [WTO] system, where it comes from and so on, it's really tough right now."

But he said that despite some rhetorical statements that pointed towards the US wanting to leave the WTO altogether, there was no indication this was going to happen and that there were "still conversations ongoing and still negotiations ongoing".

"Now that doesn't mean that we should downplay that - you don't want to be in the war," he said.

"We want to avoid the war so everything that we can do to avoid being in that situation, we must be doing at this point."

In Ulaanbaatar, Mr. Rashid Alimov has already met President Kh.Battulga, Foreign Minister D.Tsogtbaatar and J.Bat-Erdene, Minister of Road and Transport Development. On Wedesday (28 March), the first of his two-day visit, Mr Alimov gave information about the SCO and discussed cooperation in road, transport energy and other sectors. He will give an interview to the Mongolian National Broadcaster on Thursday.

Mongolia obtained observer SCO status in 2004. Since then, SCO Secretary-Generals visited Mongolia in 2007 and 2014.

Some market analysts expressed doubts over the success of the petro-yuan, citing Beijing’s yearning for total control over trading as one of the key reasons for a potential bust. “The government has been eager to encourage liquidity and paper trading, but of course the issue with paper trading is speculative trading that the government wants to keep at bay,” Michal Meidan, an analyst at energy market consultancy Energy Aspects, told Bloomberg prior to the launch.

Meanwhile, the high costs of oil storage for delivery into the Shanghai Futures Exchange may scare potential investors away from the new contracts, according to industry analysts. “Storage plays a crucial role in linking cash and futures markets. Many speculators, such as proprietary traders and hedge funds, may be scared away,” said Jian Yang, a research director at the JP Morgan Center for Commodities in the University of Colorado Denver, as quoted by the agency.

However, China's yuan-backed oil futures managed to make a strong debut on Monday with overnight trade volumes initially outstripping transactions of internationally recognized benchmark Brent. Some 62,500 contracts reportedly changed hands during the first session, as domestic and international oil investors joined the trading.

The impressive start gives deeper cause for optimism about the newcomer with some analysts qualifying oil futures denominated in China’s currency as a game-changer in the world of financial trading. “This is the single biggest change in capital markets, maybe of all time,” said Hayden Briscoe, APAC head of fixed income at UBS Asset Management, as quoted by Reuters.

According to the analyst, the move to trade oil in yuan will diminish the role of the greenback in global financial markets. If market participants, including US corporations, opt to trade yuan-backed contracts, this could easily strengthen the Chinese currency and, at the same time, weaken the dollar.

“This helps cement the exchange’s viability and challenges the petro-dollar system, in which oil deals are executed in dollars. This would decrease demand for the greenback and boost US inflation,” Briscoe said.

With crude oil becoming a great chunk of modern international commerce, the potential impact of the new product on oil market dynamics and on global monetary and financial systems could be correspondingly great.

In a letter seen by the Financial Times, the Swiss Office of the Attorney-General said its inquiry was not directed against the Anglo-Australian mining group.

“Currently, the investigation is directed neither against your client nor against any of client’s employees,” the OAG letter reads.

The OAG is conducting a criminal investigation into a frozen Swiss bank account that the Mongolian Anti-Corruption Authority (MACA) says could have been used to pay a bribe

Rio controls Oyu Tolgoi through a Canadian-listed subsidiary called Turquoise Hill.

Earlier this month, Turquoise Hill revealed earlier this month it had received a request for information from the MACA in connection with the “possible abuse of power by authorised officials” during the negotiation of the 2009 Oyu Tolgoi investment agreement.

At the time the deal was signed nine years ago Rio owned a 10 per cent stake in Turquoise Hill, which was then called Ivanhoe Mines. Rio later raised its interest to 51 per cent and now operates the mine.

The agreement, which has attracted plenty of controversy, paved the way for development of the mine and set out the terms of Mongolia’s part ownership and taxes to be paid.

A row over the agreement in 2013 led to a two-year delay in the underground expansion project.

More recently, the Mongolian government has hit Turquoise Hill with a $155m tax claim and ended a deal that allow Rio to source electricity for the mine from across the border in China.

An underground expansion of the mine, situated in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, is one of Rio’s most important growth assets.

The company is ploughing $5bn into the project aimed at lifting output to 560,000 tonnes of a copper a year between 2025 and 2030.

News that Rio is not being investigated by Swiss prosecutors will be a relief for the London-listed miner, which is facing civil US fraud charges in connection with a bungled African coal deal.

Regulators in the UK and US are also examining a payment Rio made to a French consultant who helped the company secure the rights to large iron ore deposit in Guinea.