Journalists and editors in China and Mongolia should join hands to boost cooperation and strengthen friendship between the two neighbors, said officials and media representatives during a media forum.

The remarks were made on Wednesday at the 12th China-Mongolia Media Forum, which was simultaneously held online in Beijing, the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator, and Hohhot in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

During a speech at the forum, Xu Lin, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called on media professionals from China and Mongolia to work together to boost mutual prosperity and friendship between the two countries.

China and Mongolia are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, and the development of bilateral relations maintains a good momentum, he said.

Media cooperation plays an important role in building a closer Sino-Mongolian community with a shared future. Xu, who is also minister of the State Council Information Office, called on media workers from the two countries to have sensible voices, make high-quality news reports and deepen cooperation in personnel exchanges.

Media professionals should also tell good stories of China-Mongolia cooperation in many areas, including how the two neighbors have jointly fought the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Damdin Tsogtbaatar, a member of Mongolia's parliament, also called on the two countries to expand cooperation and exchanges.

He said media personnel have contributed to promoting mutual trust and cultural exchanges between the two countries, highlighting that cooperation is the only option in the face of challenges and uncertainty brought about by the pandemic.

Han Yunxiang, director of the Inner Mongolian government's information office, said media cooperation between China and Mongolia has great potential.

He suggested that media professionals should broaden cooperation not just in traditional media such as television program production but also in new media, which has developed rapidly over the past years.

More than 100 media representatives from both countries attended the forum and shared experiences and ideas for media cooperation and in facing the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

The forum is an annual event that began in 2010 and remains an important platform for media exchanges and cooperation between China and Mongolia.

Turkey's Machine and Chemical Industry Inc (MKE) will build a cartridge loading and assembly factory in Mongolia under a contract signed with Mongolia's Defence Industry Board on 15 November.

The factory will have a yearly capacity of producing 10 million cartridges, Yasin Akdere, MKE general manager, said during the signing ceremony at MKE's Gazi Fişek fireworks factory in Ankara, Turkey's capital.

In July, MKE signed a contract with the Jordan Design and Development Bureau (JODDB) for the supply and installation of cartridge loading and assembly and bullet and shell production lines.

Minister of State for External Affairs of India Rajkumar Ranjan Singh is paying a visit to Mongolia on November 23- 26 at the invitation of Deputy Foreign Minister B.Munkhjin. Deputy Foreign Minister B.Munkhjin and Minister of State for External Affairs of India Rajkumar Ranjan Singh have held official talks on November 24.

During the talks, the sides discussed strengthening of the strategic partnership between Mongolia and India, the implementation of large-scale projects, and possibilities of fruitful cooperation between two countries’ entities in overcoming the economic difficulties posed by the pandemic.

Noting that Mongolia strives to avoid from making its export being overly dependent on a single market, Deputy Minister B.Munkhjin expressed all-round support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to export mining products, including coking coal to India, its third neighbor.

For his part, Minister of State for External Affairs of India Rajkumar Ranjan Singh noted that drafting of the memorandum of understanding in mining sector is under the process, and expressed hope that the two sides will sign it soon.

The sides agreed to actively cooperate to address the problems related to the delay of the oil refinery plant project, which is a symbol of friendly relations between the two countries, intensify its works, and put it into operation on time. In addition, the parties expressed to cooperate in the field of information technology, including ensuring cyber security, and the ‘Smart city’ project, being implemented in Mongolia.

589,315 people have received the 3rd dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 across the country. People’s participation in the additional dose is increasing. It is planned to downgrade the current heightened state of readiness ‘Orange Level’ to a ‘Yellow Level’ and return all types of educational institutes to normal operations when the coverage of 3rd dose or a booster shot of vaccines against COVID-19 reaches 30 percent of the total population of Mongolia or 50 percent of the target population (citizens above 18 years old).

“Compared to the previous week, the COVID-19 infections have fallen by 4,102, which connects with administering of the additional dose,” said Minister of Health S. Enkhbold today, November 24.

As of November 23, the coverage of 1st dose reached 69.4 percent, 2nd dose – 66.0 percent and 3rd dose or a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccines – 18.0 percent (589,315) of the total population.

This year, Mongolia has harvested a total of 571.1 thousand tons of crops. "This year the country has gotten the highest yield that have not been in the last 30 years. The high yield is likely due to the fact that 30 percent of the seeds were replaced by elite varieties for spring sowing, as well as favorable weather conditions. In previous years, about 280,000 tons of grain were harvested, while this autumn the agrarians managed to harvest the crop fully without losses. Also, we have abundant potato crop that can meet domestic demand,” said Z.Mendsaikhan, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, at the press briefing today, November 16.

Mongolia’s annual wheat demand is about 310 thousand tons. This fall, the harvest has showed a high record of 542.7 thousand tons or more than the demand. 38.3 thousand tons of oil plants and 118 thousand tons of vegetables were harvested. Last year, the harvest of vegetables accounted for about 47 percent of domestic needs, but this year it is expected to reach 60 percent.

While the diameter of Mongolian cashmere fibre was measured to be 15.3 microns in the 1950s, it has increased to 16.6-16.8 microns in recent years. This is a result of how the preparation quality has begun to sink, highlighted the participants during a discussion that took place at the Mongolian Wool and Cashmere Association.

During the discussion, a study on the current state of the incentive system for cashmere commodities and possible options was introduced. The study has found that the issue concerning quality guarantee is being left behind due to how entities that are not involved in production began to serve as middlemen, prioritizing fees and registration above quality.

Furthermore, the policy and decisions made on improving herders’ livelihood by increasing the amount of cashmere fiber obtained from a goat has had an effect on bringing down the quality of Mongolian cashmere, highlighted Deputy Head of the Mongolian Wool and Cashmere Association G.Yondonsambuu.

Senior Specialist in charge of wool and cashmere production at the Light Industry Policy Implementation and Coordination Department at the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry B.Erkhembayar said, “Despite supplying about 45 percent of cashmere commodities on the global market, Mongolia produces only 0.2 percent of ready-to-wear products. Thus, it is important that we pay special attention to the processing quality of cashmere before increasing the production of value-added products. In order to prove that Mongolian cashmere is going through a sustainable production process that meets quality standards, there is a lot that needs to be done.”

Representatives of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry, wool and cashmere processing factories, the UNDP Sustainable Cashmere Platform, the project team for Ensuring Sustainability and Resilience (ENSURE) of Green Landscapes in Mongolia, and the Green Climate Fund participated in the discussion.

All Mongolian students from secondary schools in nationwide will take a break from 20 December to 28 January for 6 weeks.

Over the past two years, Mongolian educational institutions conducted more than 30 percent of their classes in classrooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The country of 3.4 million has taken some of the world’s toughest and most enduring measures against the Covid-19 pandemic, shutting schools and kindergartens since January 2020 and plunging children into a purgatory of remote learning with patchy access to technology.

On 1 September, 2021, pupils in all 21 provinces of Mongolia set to return to the classroom, after authorities approved the return to on-site teaching in a balancing act between coronavirus concerns and children’s education. Now, students will enjoy 6 weeks long school break from 20 December, 2021.

In the first quarter of 2021, 4.4 thousand foreign citizens from 89 foreign countries were working in Mongolia with labor contract with purpose of earning wage and income or voluntarily without purpose of earning wage and income.

The number of foreign workers is increased by 2.7 percent from the same period of the previous year and 9.8 percent from the previous quarter.

In terms of gender of all foreign workers with labor contract in Mongolia, 3.8 thousand (86.5%) were male and 0.6 thousand (13.5%) were female.

It is estimated there are about 300 women from foreign countries who work as babysitters in Mongolia. Mostly Filipino women are employed as nannies and babysitters for Mongolian families.

Over the last two weeks, world leaders gathered in Glasgow, Scotland – home of the first industrial revolution – to find a tangible solution to growing climate change issues. The 26th United Nations Global Climate Change Conference (COP26) urged both developed and developing countries to shift from coal-based energy to clean energy by rewiring investments from fossil fuel to environmentally friendly solutions. As a result of this significant pledge, Mongolia and other coal-dependent countries’ long-term economic strategies will be deeply affected.

Mongolia ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 and has been following the necessary steps by making, reviewing, and updating its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) every five years. Mongolia’s national concern for climate change stem from multilayered environmental problems, including air pollution, land degradation, desertification, and mining malpractices that pollute the country’s water resources.

In 2019, Mongolia’s NDC set a target to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent compared to “business-as-usual” levels by 2030, using integrated national and cross-sectoral planning. However, at the Climate Ambition Summit in December 2020, the then-president of Mongolia, Battulga Khaltmaa, stated that Mongolia could achieve a higher NDC target of 27.2 percent reduction in greenhouse gasses if conditional mitigation measures such as carbon capture and storage and waste-to-energy technology were implemented. The Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Transport, and Ministry of Agriculture would all need to be involved in mitigation efforts.

Reducing the usage of coal at a local level is a start. Individual coal usage for cooking and heating homes can be limited at the local level because of its direct environmental effects and toxicity. However, the use of coal for energy grids will most likely continue – not just in Mongolia but in other coal power dependent countries such as Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and more. In Mongolia and other countries, securing the financial resources to fully replace the old system of coal-fueled power plants, both at a national and local level, is a major obstacle to fully switching to clean energy by 2030.

Moreover, while coal and air pollution are closely linked, particularly in the Ulaanbaatar area, the coal sector has major economic significance in Mongolia, which gives it precedence over any other issues. The most recent developments during COP26 will challenge Mongolia’s coal sector while opening investment opportunities in clean energy, technology, and green initiatives with its partners worldwide.

During Energy Day, 40 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Poland, Chile, and Vietnam, pledged to shift away from coal and fossil fuel-based investments. Moreover, in a surprise move, in addition to China’s earlier pledge to halt funding for overseas coal plants that are part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, the United States and China – the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters – issued a joint statement pledging to cut fossil fuel usage. The joint declaration stated that “China will phase down coal consumption during the 15th Five Year Plan [which covers the period from 2026 to 2030] and make best efforts to accelerate this work.” According to the International Institute of Green Finance, China has already increased spending on clean energy initiatives.

At a time when Mongolia has been stepping up its supply of coal to China, China’s latest pledges — if followed through — signals a warning sign for Mongolia’s coal sector at large.

Russia, too, has been slowly but surely formulating a climate change policy. The Carnegie Moscow Center reported, “in less than two years Russia has clearly formulated its climate priorities, including the climate emergency in its National Defense Strategy for the first time, implementing indicative planning on achieving the goals set out in its low-carbon strategy, and initiating its first projects for the transition over to green energy.”

The fact that both Russia and China are moving toward clean energy is an indication of both future challenges as well as investment opportunities.

The latest COP26 conference highlighted the vulnerabilities of coal-dependent economies, including Mongolia but also Russia, China, Indonesia, India, and more. As both developed and developing countries are urged to transform their energy sources, there must be a realistic, practical transitional period, methodology, and most importantly, financial resources to make such a switch possible.

For example, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union, and the United States pledged $8.5 billion in grants to South Africa to assist in the transition, while India, Indonesia, and the Philippines have agreed to join South Africa’s Coal Transition Program, a multibillion-dollar pilot program that can assist in the transition to clean energy. Energy analysts say that South Africa’s program is a new model, and the world is watching how South Africa will utilize these funds to determine whether moving from coal to clean energy with foreign funding is a sustainable long-term solution.

While Mongolia is not yet equipped to stop its coal-based power generation entirely, the country is working with European partners to limit CO2 emissions. Sources in the French diplomatic service stated that “France has demonstrated an increasing role in fighting deforestation, forest fires and investing in green energy and agriculture as with EU priorities towards Mongolia.”

To combat climate change, Mongolia has focused on forestry, land use, and establishing a habit of planting trees. Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa attended the World Leaders Summit event at the COP26. During the “Action on Forests and Land Use” segment, Khurelsukh stated, “By planting a single tree, it creates the condition for other plants and bushes to grow, absorbing carbon dioxide and retaining soil moisture – contributing to the preventive action has been taken against land degradation and desertification. However, by planting hundreds and thousands of trees, it is possible to return an area to its former state, whereas by planting millions and billions of trees, it is possible to bring back health to an entire region.”

During COP26, “over 130 countries, covering 90% of the world’s forests, have committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.” Mongolia is a signatory country to this “Declaration on Forests and Land Use.”

Coinciding with the COP26, Mongolia hosted three climate change-themed forums at a national level. First, the president’s initiative, the “One Billion Tree” campaign, was well-received nationwide and joined by 21 organizations to combat desertification by pledging to plant 600 million trees. Moreover, the National Forestry Forum aimed to expand Mongolia’s forestry programs, and demonstrated the additional funding needs for significant climate change projects involving reforestation, mitigating desertification, and preserving the country’s natural habitat.

The following five to 10 years are crucial for observing where the global climate change trend is heading. While developed countries aim to tackle climate change, it raises an important question on how and whether developing countries can cope with such an acute push. Furthermore, it begs the question of whether developing countries possess the technological, economic, and financial mechanisms to meet such policy goals.

The rewiring of climate finance will force countries like Russia, China, Mongolia, Japan, and South Korea to diversify their energy sources and economic activities. As a significant coal-dependent economy, Mongolia’s strategic and global partners must step up economic cooperation with Mongolia in order to truly assist in diversifying its economy. Mongolia, in turn, can present a better business climate and regulations.

GUEST AUTHOR

Bolor Lkhaajav

Bolor Lkhaajav is a researcher specializing in Mongolia, China, Russia, Japan, East Asia, and the Americas. She holds an M.A. in Asia-Pacific Studies from the University of San Francisco.