Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar D.Sumiyabazar today held a meeting with Managing Director for Central Asia of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Ms. Zsuzsanna Hargitai.

During the meeting, the sides noted that they attach great importance to their cooperation and exchanged views on possible future joint projects and programs. Emphasizing that Ulaanbaatar is one of the few cities that joined the bank’s ‘Green Cities’ program, Ms. Zsuzsanna Hargitai expressed readiness to work with the capital city on environmentally friendly and green growth projects. In turn, the Mayor pledged to support joint projects.

The meeting also touched upon collaboration of the two sides in a number of projects and programs to address some pressing issues of the city.

Present at the meeting were Head of EBRD Representative in Mongolia Hannes Takacs and Head of Project and Program Monitoring and Coordination Division of the Governor’s Office M.Ayasgalan.

The central bank considers that the economy is expected to have a 5.9 percent growth next year, which will be mainly due to the post-pandemic recovery of non-mining sector. It is also stated in a draft Basic Guidelines for 2022 State Monetary Policy that direct foreign investment and export earnings will support internal circulation, highlighted Governor of the Bank of Mongolia B.Lkhagvasuren at a meeting with the press on October 18.

The Government has obliged the central bank to implement fiscal and monetary policies aimed at supporting the economic recovery and increasing access to growth to overcome the difficulties posed by the pandemic. In this regard, the Bank of Mongolia states that it will pursue a policy to support public-private partnerships and keep implementing a medium-term monetary policy to stabilize the consumer price inflation at 6 percent in an interval. Stabilizing inflation at a low level will not only protect people’s real incomes and assets from devaluation, create conditions for the stability of the banking and financial system, but also support long-term investment and sustainable economic growth.

The demand-driven growth in prices is expected to increase gradually as the quarantine regime is being eased, policies to mitigate the impact of pandemic are being continually implemented and the economy is recovering.

Director General of the Monetary Policy Department of the Bank of Mongolia B.Bayardavaa said that the credit growth will be stabilized at 15-20 percent to ensure medium-term stability. He told that the average rate of inflation rising due to short-term, temporary or one-time supply factors caused by external and internal markets is expected to be 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter of next year.

As a result of the economic recovery at the country and abroad, Mongolia's total balance of payments is expected to have a surplus of more than USD200 million in 2022. Although the domestic economic recovery is increasing imports, the global economic recovery is expected to influence favorably on Mongolia’s export prices.

The central bank states that within the ‘10 trillion economic recovery’ plan, it will continue overseeing the implementation of loan issuance and other projects that support the creation of jobs, agricultural sector, repo financing and other project activities, as well as work closely with the government.

Coal export to China is constantly growing. In the last three weeks, a total of 6,919 trucks and 2,017 wagons of coal crossed the border, which means it has risen by about 60 percent compared to the three weeks in August to September.

The Government and Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry have taken rapid actions to establish container terminals at border crossings and state border areas to increase coal export. As a result, so far a container terminal in Gashuunsukhait has been built under the public-private partnership and put into operation within two months.

Transporting containerized coal through the Gashuunsukhait port has various advantages of increasing coal exports by improving border crossings, preventing the loss of coal quality, as well as reducing its negative impacts on the environment. It is estimated that short-haul coal shipments between the Mongolian and Chinese borders will increase coal export by 8-10 million tons per annum.

Surging coal prices and power shortages in China slowed the growth of the world’s second-largest economy in the third quarter and threaten to spill over to the global supply chains in the fourth quarter.

Last week, coal futures in China closed at a record high after sixty coal mines in the country’s top coal-producing region were forced to shut amid heavy rain, flooding, and landslides, worsening the energy supply crisis.

Later in the week, colder than normal weather in parts of China sent coal prices surging to new highs, while electricity demand soared. The rising power demand with cooler weather and industrial recovery after the pandemic has led to shortages of coal in the country, which has been rationing power supply in at least 17 of the mainland regions since last month.

Year to date, the price of the most actively traded Chinese coal futures has soared by over 200%, according to Reuters estimates.

As temperatures further plunged over the weekend, coal futures hit a new record today.

The power cuts and the subdued property investment after the Evergrande debacle resulted in weaker-than-expected economic growth in China in the third quarter. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 4.9% in Q3 compared to the same quarter last year, below the 5.2-percent growth expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.

The slowdown in Chinese economic growth and the power cuts in factories risk roiling further global supply chains, which have already been strained by a mass chip shortage and delays in shipments of various input materials.

For example, Dutch conglomerate Phillips warned on Monday that its Q3 sales were “impacted unfavorably by intensified global supply chain issues, such as the shortage of electronic components.”

“Supply chain volatility has intensified globally, which already led to longer lead times to convert our strong order book to revenue in the third quarter, and we expect this headwind to continue in the fourth quarter,” CEO Frans van Houten said.

Virus that has triggered new outbreaks of COVID-19 linked to a tour group of seniors from Shanghai that have affected several regions of China likely stemmed from overseas, Chinese health experts said, as more than 20 positive cases linked to contacts of the group have been reported so far.

The group, which crisscrossed provincial regions in China's north and northwest, likely came into contact with the virus which may have arrived through port cities in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, although where exactly it came from and how it came into China is unknown, health experts said, noting the prevalent COVID-19 variants such as Delta now circulating globally could survive longer on products in cold weather, which may have triggered community transmission.

Beijing on Tuesday reported a locally transmitted COVID-19 case who returned to the capital from Northwest China's Gansu Province, another case linked to the tour group that had spread the virus to seven provincial regions and cities as of Tuesday, including port cities in Inner Mongolia and capital of Shaanxi Province.

The new case broke Beijing's record of no community transmitted cases for more than 70 days. The patient was a close contact of a confirmed case from Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, surnamed Ai, who in turn was a confirmed contact of the Shanghai tour group. The Beijing case was on the same train as Ai.

A couple from Shanghai who were tested in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi on Saturday, were the first to test positive in this latest outbreak. The couple was part of the tour group along with five other seniors, and had traveled in Gansu Province, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi. Later, the other five tourists also tested positive in Xi'an.

Two streets in Beijing's Fengtai district are under closed management, and people from outside are advised not to visit the two streets. Fengtai district government said at a press conference Tuesday that the district will increase the frequency of disinfection in public venues, limit the number of visitors in indoor venues and restaurant opening times.

Fengtai has tracked 258 close contacts of the confirmed case, and a local school which had contact with one close contact was asked to suspend classes for a week from Tuesday. All faculty, staff and students have been tested.

Imported via ports?

The seven seniors on the group tour tested negative in Shanghai before departure, and tested negative again on October 13 in Inner Mongolia, but their road trip from October 9 to 15 went through several cities, including Ejin Banner which borders Mongolia, which is experiencing a resurgence of the virus. The country registered 1,303 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

On Tuesday, Ejin Banner reported five confirmed COVID-19 cases and the port city of Erenhot reported two, the health commission of Inner Mongolia said.

For the two positive cases in Erenhot, although they did not have direct contact with the tour group, they live in the same residential community as a hotel cleaner who had close contact with the tour group. The status of the cleaner is unknown.

From Monday 7 am, Ejin Banner had restricted movement both into and out of the region, and shut down the Ceke Port, the third-largest land port in Inner Mongolia. It would be a 48-hour temporary restriction, local officials said at a press conference on Tuesday.

An employee from the epidemic leading group of Alxa League which administers Ejin Banner told the Global Times on Tuesday that since Ceke Port has been closed, freight drivers from Mongolia are not allowed through.

He said prior to the outbreak, drivers from Mongolia had to return the same day as soon as they finished loading freight. Vendor streets close to the port were open for tourists who had green health QR codes.

Wang Guangfa, a respiratory expert at Peking University First Hospital, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the source of the latest infections was likely imported from overseas, as China has cleared its local infections long time ago and the sporadic outbreaks since the Wuhan outbreak were all related to imported sources.

"But how exactly the virus [this time] came to China, where it came from and which Chinese city first contracted the virus remain unknown," Wang said, noting that unknown factors may result in the further spread of the flare-up, and health authorities should speed up identifying the connections between cases in different regions and locating the source.

Prior to the new outbreak, several Chinese border cities including Khorgas, a port city in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that borders Kazakhstan had reported infections since October.

Compared with port cities that have frequent personnel exchanges, dealing with outbreaks in freight-related port cities is more complicated, analysts said.

Zhang Yuexin, an expert specializing in epidemic control and prevention based in Xinjiang told the Global Times on Tuesday that the possibility that loopholes in ports in Inner Mongolia that triggered the domestic outbreak could not be ruled out.

He said it is impossible for testing and disinfecting goods to cover each corner of each piece, and previous experience relating to ports suggests the virus on goods could easily spread to personnel who come into physical contact with contaminated goods accidentally or who fail to wear masks properly, Zhang said.

With the cold weather, newer prevalent variants such Delta could survive longer, Zhang said.

The latest flare-up also reveals deficiencies in communication between cities, analysts said.

The Shanghai couple first confirmed positive for COVID-19 in Xi'an on Saturday, but their nucleic acid testing showed an abnormal result on Friday in Jiayuguan, Gansu Province, as they were preparing to leave for Xi'an.

After they arrived in Xi'an, they were informed of the abnormal results and went for another test. However, they visited several scenic spots in Xi'an while awaiting the results.

Jiayuguan health authorities should have contacted Xi'an to inform them of the couple's abnormal results, and Xi'an should have quarantined or restricted their movements through technological means, such as turning their digital health codes red while waiting for the second test results, instead of allowing them to move around with a green code, analysts said.

Precise zero-tolerance epidemic strategy

China has successfully dealt with several sporadic infections after the Wuhan outbreak with its precise zero-tolerance epidemic strategy that strikes a balance between epidemic prevention and normal economic activities.

The flare-up has seen affected provincial regions temporarily close some tourist spots, suspend transportation services and place some streets under closed management, but their measures are not one solution fits all.

Wang said that China should stick to its current epidemic strategy before it is ready to reopen to the world as the global pandemic is not under control, and as a developing country, lacking proper measures would result in lots of cases that could overwhelm Chinese medical resources.

Though there is no timeline for when China will lift border restrictions, the country will do so after meeting a number of requirements, including figuring out the efficacy of the vaccines and taking into consideration the global pandemic situation, according to Wang.

In June, Mongolia officially re-opened its borders and starting international flights to over 10 countries including the USA, Turkey, Brazil, Thailand, Greece, India and Australia thus allowing international arrivals.

Mongolia attracted 27,400 foreign visitors during the first three quarters of 2021, down 54.7 percent from the same period last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most foreign arrivals came from China, Russia and South Korea during the January-September period this year.

As early as 27 January 2020, Mongolia closed its borders with China, only four days after Chinese authorities locked down Wuhan. By the time it recorded its first case on 10 March 2020, and as the WHO declared a global pandemic, Mongolia was already shut off from the world. As a result of its prompt response to the risk, and the government’s readiness to introduce unpopular – yet effective measures – the country if 3.3 million was able to prevent local transmission until November 2020. Due to border closures, tourism has been among the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic.

The management team of the National Development Agency held an official meeting with the EBRD Managing Director of Central Asia Ms. Zsuzsanna Hargitai, Regional Lead Economist Mr. Eric Livny and Head of EBRD Resident Office in Mongolia Mr. Hannes A.Takacs.

During the meeting, the parties briefed each other on their activities and strategic directions and exchanged views on possible actions to improve further cooperation between the organizations.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expressed its full support for the National Development Agency's goal of comprehensive environmental reform, including e-government services for investors, promotion of the investment climate, protection of investors' interests and improvement of the legal environment.

In addition, it also expressed its willingness to actively cooperate in the development of a green economy by providing technical assistance, methodological advice, financial and non-financial support in developing a ‘Long-term decarbonization strategy’ for Mongolia, and the two sides agreed to further expand relations and work closely.

Source: National Development Agency

A region in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region bordering Mongolia closed port, rolled out mass nucleic acid tests for all residents on Tuesday morning as the region detected five confirmed COVID-19 infections that are linked to a cross-provincial tour group.

Five confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ejina Banner and another two in the border port of Erenhot were reported, the health commission of Inner Mongolia said on Tuesday.

In the wake of the five confirmed in Ejina Banner, the local authorities decided to give nucleic acid tests at 12 testing venues to all residents and visitors, starting from Tuesday morning.

All scenic spots, public venues and transportation were temporarily closed. Schools were also closed.

From Monday 7am, the Ejina Banner had restricted movement both into and out of the region, and shut down the Ceke Port, the third largest land port in Inner Mongolia. It will be a 48 hour temporary restriction, local officials said at the press conference on Tuesday.

An employee from the epidemic leading group of Alaxan region said since the Ceke Port has been closed, freight drivers from Mongolia are not allowed to pass through. He said prior to the outbreak, drivers from Mongolia had to return on the same day when they finished loading goods.

The newest information released by local authorities at the press conference on Tuesday said as the five employees from the restaurant tested positive, another two who initially tested positive were waiting to be rechecked. All the five confirmed cases and two positive cases are being quarantined for medical treatment. 197 close contacts and 85 secondary close contacts have been screened out.

Among close contacts who had the same travel history with the confirmed cases, two were individual vendors working in the commercial market of the Ceke Port, a 23-year-old man surnamed Wang and another 41-year-old man surnamed Zhang, official report showed. The two were quarantined.

Prior to the outbreak, street market close to the port were open for tourists who had green health QR codes, the employee from the local epidemic leading group told the Global Times.

Health experts reached by the Global Times said possibilities of confirmed cases got infected in the port cannot be ruled out.

Ejina Banner borders Mongolia’s Omnogovi Province. On October 11 alone, the province reported 262 new confirmed cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 7,874, reports said.

An IV emergency responding mechanism was activated in Ejina Banner, requiring an implementation of a slew of anti-epidemic measures to tackle epidemic resurgence, including screening out close tests, travel control, testing and disinfections.

The five confirmed cases in Ejina Banner were close contacts of two confirmed cases who were a couple. The couple had travelled from Shanghai to Northwest China’s Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi. Five others who were in the same tour group as the couple also tested positive for COVID-19.

All the confirmed five in Ejina Banner were working at a restaurant called Tongnange. Previously, the couple had been to the restaurant from October 12-14 multiple times.

Their confirmation made the total confirmed infections relating to the restaurant to at least 12. Another five who departed from Lanzhou, Gansu Province, had also been to the restaurant from October 12-14.

The epidemic flare-up in Inner Mongolia was firstly reported in the border port of Erenhot. As of press time, the mainland has four COVID-19 medium-risk communities, two of which are in Erenhot.

Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia attracted 27,400 foreign visitors during the first three quarters of 2021, down 54.7 percent from the same period last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Statistics Office said on Tuesday.

China, Russia and South Korea were the biggest sources of foreign travelers to Mongolia during the January-September period this year, it said.

Currently, Mongolia's economy is largely dependent on its export-oriented mining sector. Developing tourism is seen as the most viable way to diversify the economy. However, tourism has been among the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic