US President Joe Biden has warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about election meddling in their first call, the White House says.

The conversation included a discussion about the ongoing opposition protests in Russia and an extension of the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms pact.

Mr Putin congratulated the new US president on winning the election, according to a Russian statement.

Both parties said they agreed to maintain contact moving forward.

Former US President Donald Trump was accused by critics of not being forceful enough with Mr Putin. US intelligence officials say Moscow has been involved in several US hacks.

Former President Barack Obama - under whom Mr Biden served as vice-president - was also accused of weakness on Russia, and failing to check the Kremlin as it annexed Crimea, invaded eastern Ukraine and muscled in on Syria.

What did the White House and Kremlin say about the call?

"President Biden made clear that the United States will act firmly in defence of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies," a US statement said.

A White House readout of Tuesday afternoon's call said that the two presidents also discussed the massive SolarWinds cyber-attack, reports that Russia placed bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan, and the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.

The Kremlin readout of the call did not refer to any points of friction the White House said Mr Biden had raised.

Russian officials said Mr Putin had "noted that the normalisation of relations between Russia and the United States would meet the interests of both countries and - taking into account their special responsibility for maintaining security and stability in the world - of the entire international community".

"On the whole, the conversation between the leaders of Russia and the United States was of a business-like and frank nature," the Kremlin statement added.

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Biden not looking for a confrontation

Analysis box by Barbara Plett-Usher, State Department correspondent

Joe Biden had indicated he would be tougher on Vladimir Putin than Donald Trump, who refused to take on the Kremlin and frequently cast doubt on Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

On that matter Mr Biden made his sharpest break with Mr Trump, reportedly telling Mr Putin that he knew Russia had tried to meddle in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. He also warned the Russian president that the US was ready to defend itself against cyber-espionage, and any other attacks.

Despite Mr Trump's conciliatory approach, the Kremlin did not benefit from his presidency, because his administration heavily sanctioned Russians for issues ranging from Ukraine to attacks on dissidents. Joe Biden and his foreign policy team will take a robust position on human rights and Mr Putin's intentions in Europe.

But they are not looking for a confrontation.

Rather, they hope to manage relations and co-operate where possible. In that vein, the two presidents did agree to work at completing the extension of the new Start arms control treaty before it expires next month.

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What else did Biden do today?

The call with the Kremlin comes as Mr Biden's nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 78-22.

Mr Biden later appeared at the White House to sign four executive orders aimed at addressing what he called US systemic racism.

"This is the time to act and it's to act because it's what the core values of this nation call us to do. I believe the vast majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents share these values and want us to act as well," said Mr Biden.

The president directed the Department of Justice not to renew contracts with private prison operators, though advocates noted the order does not cover privately run immigration detention centres.

Mr Biden also directed the Department of Housing and Urban Development to take steps to eradicate racism from housing policy.

According to the Washington Post, the department will reinstate a 2013 rule on "disparate impact" that aims to block the real estate sector from requiring tenants to undergo criminal background checks, or use artificial intelligence to forecast creditworthiness.

The new orders also recommit the US government to respect tribal sovereignty. The order is not a significant change from existing federal policy, but some Native American tribal officials said their objections to public lands decisions were ignored under the Trump administration.

Mr Biden also signed a directive rejecting coronavirus-related discrimination against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities.

Meanwhile, Vice-President Kamala Harris received her second coronavirus vaccine dose at a federal health agency in Washington DC, saying: "I want to urge everyone to take the vaccine when it's your turn."

Ms Harris was criticised during the election campaign after she expressed doubt about the safety of any vaccine that might be developed under Mr Trump. The Moderna drug she was inoculated with on Tuesday was approved by the former Republican president's health officials.

The pandemic has exacted a terrible toll on human life and livelihoods. It is hard to see how anything that could possibly be described as positive could come out of such a devastating crisis.

But the world's biggest money manager suggests there may be one.

Blackrock manages $8.7 trillion dollars of savers' money. It is probably the most influential financial firm in the world.

Larry Fink, the chief executive of Blackrock, in his annual letter to the bosses of all the companies in which that colossal sum is invested, says the pandemic could ultimately help in the fight against an even greater crisis.

"I believe that the pandemic has presented such an existential crisis - such a stark reminder of our fragility - that it has driven us to confront the global threat of climate change more forcefully and to consider how, like the pandemic, it will alter our lives."

Sustainable investments

He argues this is not just talk: you can measure it and that it has accelerated a re-allocation of global capital towards environmentally sustainable businesses.

When the pandemic hit, investors ran to the hills. They dumped their shareholdings and turned them into cash. The Dow Jones index of the biggest companies in the US lost 10,000 points, nearly a third, in a matter of days.

The stock market has rebounded as investors look hopefully to a post-pandemic world - their moods enhanced by enormous amounts of emergency financial drugs such as money printing and massive government borrowing and spending.

But when the investors came out of the hills they came down a different route - investing in different companies than they ones they used to own. Larry Fink notes that investors pumped $288bn globally in sustainable assets, a 96% increase over the whole of 2019.

Climate change to drive 'massive' investment shift

Managing people's money is not a camp fire sing song. You need to deliver results or the pension funds will take their money elsewhere.

Here again, Larry Fink insists you don't have to sacrifice a good return for a clean planet and a clear conscience. The value of companies with better environmental, social and governance profiles increased faster than others during 2020.

A lot of this may be dismissed as "greenwash" - tokenistic attempts on the part of businesses to keep the money coming.

Changing attitudes

It's also true that Blackrock invests hundreds of billions in "index trackers", which mean they will have a holding in a company as long as it is in a big global index - like the FTSE 100, which is chock a block with oil, gas and mining companies from which an independent sustainable investor would recoil.

Some of the sustainable investment outperformance may also be due to it being the new look you have to copy to look current.

However, all businesses go bust unless they go where their customers tell them to go. Last week, the Church of England dumped shares in FTSE stalwart BP despite the new bosses pledges to make the energy company carbon neutral by 2050.

Big UK money managers like Legal & General and Aviva have their own lists of companies they will not invest in, and report that investing attitudes on the part of their customers are moving fast.

It has proved irresistible for governments around the world to promise they will "build back better" - it may also prove hard to resist the yearning to return to what we had before - and if cheap oil for example helps us do that then so be it.

But when the man with the $9 trillion purse strings speaks direct to company chief executives, they tend to listen. And Larry Fink says the pandemic has kicked in a window that was already ajar - a chance for capitalism to reappraise where its headed.

Since the coronavirus emergency began, a year ago, Mongolia has held two successful, in-person elections. While citizens were willing to endure lockdowns, they were also determined to participate in a free, multiparty democracy they are very proud of.

Mongolia is surrounded by its two giant neighbours, China and Russia, one of which is communist, while the other is a flawed democracy, at best. This remarkable fact prompted then US secretary of state John Kerry to dub Mongolia an “oasis of democracy”.

Mongolia declared its independence from China in 1911. It was led by a theocratic leader, on the Tibetan model, the Bogd Khaan, until 1921, when the Mongolian People’s Republic was established. In 1924, the Bogd Khaan died, possibly assassinated by Bolsheviks. The monarchy was abolished, most of the royals were killed, and the country remained a Soviet satellite until the fall of the Soviet Union. In 1990, Mongolia underwent a peaceful transition to democracy. By 1992, the country had a multiparty political system, a constitution, and a free-market economy.

Scoring high

Not only is Mongolia unique, in being the only high-functioning democracy in the region, the Mongolians also score higher on many developmental metrics than do other countries in their income bracket of roughly $4,000 per year. Adult literacy in Mongolia is nearly 99% which puts the country ahead of Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, India, and Pakistan. Mongolia’s Gini, or income disparity measure, is only 3.27, which is quite modest when the US and China both score over 4. The average Mongolian adult has nearly 10 years of formal education, on a par with European countries, such as Greece and Spain, and well ahead of India where the average adult only has 6.9 years of education. Mongolia ranks 106th on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, which ties the nation with Brazil. Press freedom is another area where Mongolia has done surprisingly well. Reporters without Borders rank Mongolia at 73rd, well above Israel and Hungary. And in terms of Quality of Democracy, Mongolia ranks 62nd in the world, while Russia ranks 132nd and China 152nd.

Dr Chinburen Jigjidsuren, a special health advisor to the prime minister of Mongolia, was recently elected to the Mongolian parliament, to represent Bayanzürkh district of Ulaanbaatar, the country’s capital. He gave several reasons why he believed democracy in Mongolia was of a better quality than what is seen in China, Russia, or Central Asia.

“First is geography.” he said. “We are located between two giant countries China and Russia. And, we are landlocked.” Mongolians have always fretted that their two hungry neighbors would gobble them up. Southern Mongolia, which has a Mongolian population larger than the country of Mongolia, is now the Chinese Province of Inner Mongolia. Similarly, the Eastern part of Russia contains the Republic of Buryatia, the Tuvan Republic and the Altai Republic, which are home to Mongolic peoples and were once part of the Great Mongol Empire.

Welcome buffer

While fear of annexation is a pervasive feature of Mongolian political life, a free and independent Mongolia also serves as a welcome buffer between China and Russia, two sometimes-allies who do not trust each other very much. If Mongolia were communist, perhaps Russia would be concerned that its allegiance would be with China. Consequently, allowing Mongolia to be a democracy with close ties to its “best third-neighbours”, the US, Japan, and South Korea, helps maintain the balance of power.

“Culturally we are nomadic people,” explained Jigjidsuren. Nomads are fiercely independent people. Americans often think of the early pioneers as independent spirits, who could fend for themselves and needed no help from government. But, unlike the pioneers, who were farmers, nomadic herders are tied to nothing, apart from their animals and their families, not even the land itself. Surveying the Mongolian steppes and watching the expert horsemanship of children as young as three years-old, cowboys are another symbol of freedom which comes to mind. But as free as cowboys were, they were employed by someone to guard the cattle. They had bosses. Traditionally, Mongolians, by contrast, answer only to the big, blue sky. Democracy, rather than totalitarianism, seems a better fit for a people who refuse to be owned.

Best lessons from both

“We are close to Europe and Russia, but we are also Asian,” said the doctor, echoing a sentiment that many other Mongolians have expressed. Mongolia is part of Asia, but has had close ties to Europe, allowing the Mongolians to take many of the best lessons from both. Chinese and Russian medium high schools coexist in Ulaanbaatar, right beside American and British schools. In all of the private and foreign schools, as well as the Mongolian national schools, English is the first foreign language. The average Mongolian is 28 years-old. A significant percentage of the people are internet savvy and speak English.

“Our literacy is high, 90%, and the people are very educated. They access the world through the internet with no restrictions like in China. So, we are free to communicate with the rest of the world,” explained Jigjidsuren proudly, adding: “These are big advantages to build democracy.”

The population is still growing, with more than two children per family. The government provides a great deal of support for children and families, including a monthly stipend paid to parents to encourage more births.

A healthy, young population, which is educated and connected to the internet demands quality and transparency from its elected officials. Facebook is used as a means for young Mongolians to communicate with their elected officials, while it is also used to publicise scandals or the improprieties of public figures. This is helping the country fight bribery and corruption, explained Jigjidsuren “We are becoming more transparent.”

The doctor related Mongolia’s success with democracy to its past refusal to become part of the Soviet Union. “Mongolia was never part of the USSR, because we admire freedom,” he said. “We are a nomadic culture, with a big history, and we had a very difficult time before the communist revolution. We were colonised by the Qing Dynasty for 600 years. So, freedom is very important to us.”

Shortly after this interview, a young, pregnant woman entered a hospital in Ulaanbaatar, where she gave birth. Immediately after the baby was born, it was determined that she had tested positive for Covid-19. She was turned out on the street in minus-25-degree weather, and told to wait for an ambulance which would take her to a special hospital. The story went viral on Mongolian social media and thousands of Mongolians took to the streets to protest her ill-treatment, as well as the coronavirus lockdowns, in general, which have left many with no income for nearly a year.

As a result of the protest, both the vice prime minister and the minister of health resigned. Bat Purev, former director general of the Financial Regulatory Commission of Mongolia, observed: “Mistreatment towards a newborn and mother who tested positive for Covid ignited people’s anger and frustration. So, the youth just went to the street without any organisation, except social media. That made the deputy prime minister and health minister write their resignation letters. That wasn’t the end, though. Today, the prime minister also decided to go!”

The pride that he felt for his countrymen and for a democracy that allowed citizens to hold their elected officials accountable was evident when he concluded: “It is quite beautiful to see how a new generation of Mongolians, with a dedicated sense of human rights is growing. And yes, Mongolia is still a jewel of democracy in the region.”

By: The author, Dr. Antonio Graceffo PhD China-MBA, worked as an economics researcher and university professor in China, but is now living in Ulaanbaatar, writing about the Mongolian and Chinese economies. He holds a PhD from Shanghai University of Sport Wushu Department where he wrote his dissertation “A Cross Cultural Comparison of Chinese and Western Wrestling” in Chinese. He is the author of 11 books, including A Deeper Look at the Chinese Economy, The Wrestler’s Dissertation, and Warrior Odyssey. He completed post-doctoral studies in economics at Shanghai University, specializing in US-China Trade, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and Trump-China economics. His China economic reports are featured regularly in The Foreign Policy Journal and published in Chinese at The Shanghai Institute of American Studies, a Chinese government think tank.

The deadly coronavirus has taken a heavy toll on the world’s copper mines.

Output in key producer countries such as Peru cratered over the second quarter of 2020 as lockdowns and quarantine measures caused many mines drastically to reduce operations.

Recovery has been patchy. Peruvian mines had just about returned to normal run-rates by October, but output in Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, started sliding in the third quarter after a robust first half of the year.

Global mine output in the first 10 months of 2020 was still 0.5% lower than 2019 levels, according to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG).

What was supposed to be a year of mined supply growth turned out to be the second consecutive year of zero growth.

The resulting supply chain stress is manifest in this year’s benchmark smelter terms which are the lowest in a decade.

There is as yet no sign of a turnaround in the raw materials segment of the copper supply chain, suggesting full covid-19 recovery could be a protracted affair.

Falling benchmark

Treatment and refining charges, which are what a smelter levies for processing copper concentrates into refined metal, are the best indicator of what is going on in the opaque raw materials market.

And the message is clear. There’s not enough concentrate to go around.

The benchmark terms for this year’s shipments fell to $59.50 per tonne and 5.95 cents per pound from what was already a lowball $62.00 and 6.2 cents in 2019. They haven’t been this low since 2011, another year of mine supply stress, when they were settled at $56.00 and 5.6 cents.

Last year’s supply woes coincided with increased appetite in China as new smelters entered the competition for raw materials.

That should have translated into more concentrates imports. But after increases of 14% and 12% in 2018 and 2019 respectively, imports were down by 1% over the first 11 months of 2020 as smelters struggled to source material.

Unless there was a big rebound in December itself, 2020 could be the first year of lower concentrates arrivals since 2011.

An unofficial ban on Australian material hasn’t helped. Strained bilateral relations between Australia and China have impacted Chinese purchases of copper concentrates, which fell to zero in December.

However, Australia was only the fifth-largest supplier to China in 2019 and although constricted trade has exacerbated the tightness, the root cause has been covid-19 disruption, particularly in Peru.

What is normally China’s second top supplier after Chile saw mined copper production contract by 38% over April and May and by 14.5% over the January-October period, according to the ICSG.

Smelter squeeze

There is no sign of any short-term alleviation of the squeeze on smelter margins.

Indeed, it may be getting worse.

China’s Smelter Purchase Team, a grouping of some of the country’s biggest players, has lowered its floor purchase terms to $53.00 and 5.3 cents for the first quarter.

The Team has considerable negotiating muscle and its quarterly minimum terms are a strong signal as to the state of play in the concentrates market.

This quarter’s floor terms are down from $58.00 and 5.8 cents in the fourth quarter and from $67.00 and 6.7 cents in the first quarter of 2020.

Even this low first-quarter floor may be on the optimistic side, since Fastmarkets is assessing the spot market for copper concentrates at below $50.00 and 5 cents.

Quite evidently, copper mine production still has a way to go before satisfying smelter demand.

Long recovery?

Supply should improve as mine activity normalises along with everything else in the wake of covid-19 vaccination programs.

The ICSG’s October forecast was for world mined copper production to fall by 1.5% in 2020 but to come roaring back with 4.6% growth in 2021.

Things, however, may not be that simple.

Consider the case of the Las Bambas mine in Peru. Production last year was 311,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate, according to mine operator MMG Ltd.

The mine took a 70,000-tonne hit from a combination of COVID-19 restrictions on personnel, unplanned maintenance and, to a lesser degree, community road blockages.

Production recovered to pre-pandemic rates in the fourth quarter with onsite workforce levels “now in excess of 90% of normal, with expanded COVID safe accommodation options available at site and in local communities,” MMG said,

But last year’s disruption will have a long tail.

It was supposed to be “a year of transition for Las Bambas, with an intended focus on continuing to increase mining volumes to open up additional operating faces, completion of the third ball mill and the development of the (new) Chalcobamba pit.”

Most of that activity will now fall into this year “with a return to higher production volumes in following years,” according to MMG. Production in 2021 is expected to come in close to 2020 levels at 310,000-330,000 tonnes of contained copper before rising to 400,000 tonnes in subsequent years.

Although Las Bambas like other mines has learned to live with COVID-19, it has done so at the cost of deferring expansion work.

Long covid-19

When copper smelter terms were last this low – 2010 and 2011 – the copper price was at record highs.

That was no coincidence. The world’s miners were collectively blindsided by the strength of China’s demand for industrial metals. Their inability to respond saw tightness in the concentrates segment of the supply chain transmitted into the refined metal section.

With Chinese demand again booming and analysts looking for a strong pick-up in demand from the rest of the world on the back of “green” technology roll-out, copper mine supply needs to react.

However, if Las Bambas is indicative of operational stresses in the rest of the sector, production is not going to miraculously snap back to pre-pandemic levels this year.

Just as the world starts to consider the effects of “long COVID-19” on human health, the copper market needs to start doing the same for mine supply.

(Editing by David Evans)

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Government of Mongolia is urging the Oyu Tolgoi project investors to revise the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement signed in 2009 and terminate the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan, known as ‘Dubai Agreement’, according to the statements made by Acting Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Kh.Nyambaatar and Deputy Chief of Cabinet Secretary B.Solongoo, when they today met Member of the Parliament S.Ganbaatar, who has gone on hunger strike, demanding Oyu Tolgoi agreement termination.

Acting Minister Kh.Nyambaatar said, “ We have received Oyu Tolgoi Project Financial Model 2029. Oyu Tolgoi project sales revenue is projected to increase when the underground mine operations begin in 2023 and reach USD 29 billion by 2029. According to the financial model, USD 10 billion of that sales revenue will cover operational costs. USD 12 billion out of the remaining USD 19 billion is reported to be written off for the depreciation. Per the model, we will have to pay USD 3 billion in loan after the remaining USD 6.3 billion is used for the repayment of the investment. Therefore, actions are being taken in phases to have experts conduct an independent review and determine the legal framework for the agreement termination.”

“The working group in charge of the agreement revision has successfully convened several times. During its talks with Rio Tinto executives on December 18, 2020, the working group urged them to terminate the Dubai Agreement and completely revise the 2009 Investment Agreement rather than improving it. January 18 saw a virtual meeting with the investor side where it was stated that the Investment Agreement may be terminated as a last resort if the Mongolian Government’s demand is not accepted. To make the project beneficial to Mongolia, the government is ready to work with MP S.Ganbaatar and have him join the working group.”

Cabinet Secretariat Deputy Chief B.Solongoo said, “The Government imposed a MNT 350 billion tax penalty on Oyu Tolgoi LLC in 2018 and a MNT 650 billion tax penalty in 2020. The company refused to make the payment and took the case to an international court. The Government of Mongolia must file an answer to the court within February 21, 2021. We are working to give a reasonable answer. The extensive working group set up by the Government is working with three sub-groups”

As the second largest landlocked country in the world after Kazakhstan, Mongolia has a very distinctive climate. Just like neighbouring areas such as southern Russia to the north and northern China to the south, Mongolia’s climate is characterised as continental, as opposed to the maritime climate of locations closer to the sea or ocean.

In practice, this means long and very cold winters, with average temperatures in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, staying well below freezing from November through to March, and reaching lows of almost -50C. In contrast, summer temperatures are in the low 20s, and can reach peaks of 36C.

Precipitation in the capital is almost nonexistent in winter, with virtually no snow. In the summer months, from June onwards, there is a small amount of rainfall, but the annual total here is just 200mm (less than 8ins).

Most of the country is covered with desert plains (in the south) and steppe grasslands (in the north and east, where there is a slightly higher rainfall). But in the west and north, mountain ranges rise to over 3,000 metres (roughly 10,000ft). The peaks are often covered with a light dusting of snow, and occasionally there is a heavier fall.

The Mongolians have got strong female talents and their next generation are among Asia’s best boxers. Their next big international hope could be the 12-year-old Lham Tsendbaatar who won already national events in Mongolia and increased her training sessions to accomplish her future goals in boxing.

The Asian Boxing Confederation’s new PR campaign, the ASBC Future stars have been introducing the continent’s best hopes and young talents focusing to the new wave of the boxers. Mongolia has got less than 2,000 boxers altogether in all age groups but the quality of their athletes are very high and they are always competitive in the ASBC Asian Boxing Championships.

Mongolia’s new female hope Lham Tsendbaatar was born in the capital city of the country in Ulaanbaatar in 2008. She began boxing at the age of 9 in Mongolia and after three and half years of experiences, Tsendbaatar is a well-trained talent. The Mongolian talent trains every day at least two-times to reach the top level of the Asian boxers in the near future. Her elder brothers are also boxers and have got good potential in our sport.

Her coach is Mr. Yerkin Jamantai who reached several strong results as a boxer in the international stage besides to his national titles in Mongolia. Lham Tsendbaatar claimed the gold medal in the recent two editions of the Mongolian Kids National Championships where she dominated all of her contests against mostly older rivals. Mongolia’s first ASBC Asian Women’s Junior Champion 17-year-old Tugsjargal Nomin-Erdene also trains in her club together with coach Mr. Yerkin Jamantai.

The Mongolian girl can join to the international schoolgirls events in 2021 and her first goal is the annual opening edition of the ASBC Asian Schoolgirls Boxing Championships. Lham Tsendbaatar could be Mongolia’s weapon at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games which is her main long-term target in our sport. Mongolia’s female boxing life delivered its success at the 2018 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships where Nandintsetseg Myagmardulam bagged bronze medal. Mongolia hosted the 2019 edition of the ASBC Asian Youth Boxing Championships where the country claimed eight medals on home soil.

Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia recorded 13 more locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its national tally to 1,656, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Tuesday.

"A total of 12,039 tests for COVID-19 were conducted across Mongolia yesterday and 13 of them were positive," said Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's Surveillance Department, at a daily press conference.

Two of the latest confirmed cases are health workers of the NCCD, and the others are people who had close contact with previously confirmed cases in the country's capital, said Ambaselmaa.

Meanwhile, 42 more patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total to 1,211, she added.

The Asian country, with a population of around 3.3 million, has recorded two COVID-19 deaths so far. Enditem

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ In coming four years, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism plans to focus on recovering tourism industry by reviving tourist flow in a short time after the pandemic. In doing so, it aims to boost tourism based on each regional features, increase jobs in rural areas, improve citizens’ livelihood and reduce adverse impacts on nature and environment caused by tourism.

First of all, a program on post-pandemic recovery in tourism industry will be implemented in partnership with the United Nations World Tourism Organization. And in cooperation with well-known experts, a plan has been developed to introduce international good practices into domestic tourism based on its specialties, said S.Bayasgalan, Head of Tourism Policy and Cooperation Department of the Ministry.

Due to the pandemic, tourists are being afraid of getting infected during their travel. Therefore, it is crucial to keep tourism products and services safe, satisfy requirements as well as to get all tourism entities confirmed with international safe tourism certificate and promote to the market.

After re-opening the country’s border, a project will be realized to boost borderline tourism. Aside from tourists entering through land border checkpoints, tourist flow will be increased with creation of short distance flights. It is also possible to raise the number of tourists to come from other destinations. There are two big tourism clusters to be developed in Mongolia. First one is Altai tourism cluster which covers four countries including Mongolia, Russia, China and Kazakhstan and the second one is Gobi tourism cluster, which includes Gobi region in China, she added.

BEIJING (Reuters) - COVID-19 outbreaks in northern China will have some impact on industries but will not lead to manufacturing shutdowns, said Huang Libin, an official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, at a media briefing on Tuesday.

Reporting by Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Tom Hogue