Global investors continue to pour cash into China despite coronavirus uncertainty & tensions with US www.rt.com

Japan's governing party chooses Shinzo Abe's successor www.bbc.com

Asian shares buoyed by coronavirus vaccine hopes www.reuters.com

Rio Tinto chief Jean-Sébastien Jacques to quit over Aboriginal cave destruction www.bbc.com

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to pay official visit to Mongolia www.montsame.mn

Mongolia to challenge Australia on coking coal exports www.news.mn

China claims 'important breakthrough' in space mission shrouded in mystery www.bbc.com

Ever since China claimed success in the secretive launch of an experimental spacecraft, experts have been pondering over what it could be and what it did in space.

The spacecraft - mounted on a Long March 2F rocket - was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China on 4 September and safely returned to Earth after two days in orbit.

"The successful flight marked the country's important breakthrough in reusable spacecraft research and is expected to offer convenient and low-cost round-trip transport for the peaceful use of space," state-run Xinhua News Agency said on 6 September in a brief report.

But unlike recent Chinese high-profile space missions, very few details have emerged about the vehicle and no visuals have been released.

Mysterious vehicle
Chinese authorities have been tight-lipped about the nature of the short-duration excursion and what technologies were tested.

The exact launch and landing times were not revealed, nor was the landing site although it is thought to be the Taklamakan Desert, which is in northwest China.

"There are many firsts in this launch. The spacecraft is new, the launch method is also different. That's why we need to make sure there is extra security," a military source told South China Morning Post (SCMP).

An official memo circulating on social media also warned staff and visitors to the launch site not to film the lift-off or discuss it online, according to SCMP.

The launch of the vehicle may have come as a surprise - there was no official announcement prior to the launch - but China has been working on such technology for the past decade. Three years ago, China said it would launch a space vessel in 2020 that "will fly into the sky like an aircraft" and be reusable.

A reusable spacecraft - as the name implies can undertake multiple trips to space - thereby potentially lowering the overall cost of launch activity. A traditional one-off spacecraft - costing tens of millions of dollars - is practically rendered useless after a single mission.

The experimental vessel reached an altitude of about 350km, which is in line with China's previous crewed flights. The spacecraft also released an unknown object into the orbit before returning to Earth.

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, says the aim of the mission was likely to test out the vehicle's systems such as power, temperature, stability and to prove it could re-enter and land correctly.

Once the testing is complete, such a vehicle could be used to launch and repair satellites, survey the Earth, as well as take astronauts and goods to and from orbit, possibly to a planned future Chinese space station.

Comparisons to US' X-37 space plane
The Chinese craft's size and shape remain unclear but it is widely believed to be some sort of uncrewed space plane similar to the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle operated by the US Air Force.

The recent mission could be linked to the Shenlong - or divine dragon - space plane project, which has been in development for some time, according to reports. A second Chinese reusable space plane called Tengyun, or cloud climber, is also in the works.

If confirmed as a space plane, China would become only the third country to have successfully launched such a vehicle into orbit after the US and the former Soviet Union.

The European Space Agency is working on its own reusable orbital vehicle called Space Rider, while India is also said to be developing a space shuttle-like craft.

The X-37B, resembling a miniature space shuttle, has been in orbit since late May following its launch on its sixth assignment. Very little is known about the X-37B's missions, prompting speculation that the planes could be used for spying activity or testing space weapons.

Similarly, the lack of publicity has given rise to speculation that the Chinese spacecraft could also possibly have some military use.

"The secrecy, I am sure, is just because it is a military project," adds McDowell, who has been closely following the mission.

There is little distinction between China's civilian and military space programmes which fuels suspicions about Beijing's space ambitions.

"It is reasonable to assume that what's being tested has some military applications, probably new satellite equipment and spying technologies," notes Bleddyn Bowen, a space policy academic at the University of Leicester.

"We'll have to wait and see how many future flights like this China may conduct to see whether it will match the scale of X-37B," he told the BBC.

China's state-run outlet Global Times, citing observers, did say that the country should have the capability to strike anywhere on Earth within half an hour, just as the X-37B does.

China's growing space ambitions
Whatever its purpose, the reusable system marks yet another milestone for China's ambitious space programme, and comes weeks after the launch of Tianwen-1, China's latest attempt to reach Mars.

China has poured significant funding into its space efforts, and last year became the first country to send an uncrewed rover to the far side of the Moon.

President Xi Jinping has also thrown his support behind the country's space endeavours and the Chinese state media regularly cast the "space dream" as one step in the path to "national rejuvenation".

Earlier this year it also completed the network of satellites for its BeiDou navigation system, an alternative to the US GPS system. China is also working toward sending astronauts to the Moon and, eventually, Mars.

"If this really is a space plane, and not just a reusable capsule like Dragon, then it represents a big step forward in China's space technology as winged re-entry is really hard to do," notes McDowell.

"China was way behind in space but has been gearing up its space programme on all fronts and is now catching up fast. The spacecraft launch is just another reflection of that."

Bleddyn Bowen adds the spacecraft launch is "just another part of China becoming a comprehensive space power that utilises space technology for the purposes of war, development, and prestige like all others".

Nalaikh park to increase domestic building material production 1.78 fold www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Member of the Parliament S.Amarsaikhan, Minister of Construction and Urban Development B.Munkhbaatar, and Ulaanbaatar city government officials worked at Nalaikh Industrial and Technology Park of Building Materials (NITPBM) on September 8.

World Bank Group’s Response to COVID-19 (coronavirus) in Mongolia www.worldbank.org

The World Bank Group, one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, is taking broad, fast action to help developing countries strengthen their pandemic response. We are increasing disease surveillance, improving public health interventions, and helping the private sector continue to operate and sustain jobs. Over the next 15 months, we will be deploying up to $160 billion in financial support to help countries protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic recovery, including $50 billion of new IDA resources in grants or highly concessional terms.

In Mongolia, the Bank has been working closely with the government to address the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the health sector, Mongolia was included in the WBG’s first batch of COVID-19 health emergency support operations. The Mongolia COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness project, with a total financing of US$26.9 million, will help the country meet emergency needs in the face of the pandemic and better prepare for future health crises.
In addition, US$2.2 million has been mobilized under the ongoing E-Health project to purchase the most needed medical diagnostic equipment.
Under the Strengthening Governance in Mongolia Project, funded by the European Union, US$750,000 (€ 680,000) has been reprioritized to enable the government to take more targeted just-in-time measures to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, such as assessing the potential economic impact of the pandemic, planning and monitoring of fiscal resources, and better tracking the allocation and expenditure on response measures.
Resources under the Employment Support Project have also been reprioritized to support the government’s economic stimulus package in response to COVID-19. This includes US$15 million towards providing social insurance contributions relief for an estimated 120,000 individuals enrolled in the voluntary scheme—including the self-employed, micro-entrepreneurs, and those informally employed—for a period of five months. The microloan program with US$2.6 million financing under the project will also provide temporary interest rate relief for borrowers during the time of crisis.
Mongolia Emergency Relief and Employment Support Project, financed with US$20 million IDA credit, will provide temporary relief to eligible workers and employers in response to the COVID-19 crisis and help provide the country’s jobseekers and micro-entrepreneurs with improved access to labor market opportunities. In particular, US$10 million from the project will be transferred to the Social Insurance Fund to partially compensate the contribution relief for eligible employers and their workers under the mandatory SI scheme.
To minimize the secondary impacts of COVID-19 on children’s health and nutrition, US$5 million has been mobilized under the Education Quality Reform Project. The funding will top up payments to the government’s Child Money Program benefitting approximately 1.19 million children. The transfer will use the existing government system of social assistance for children thus reaching households quickly, with minimal administrative costs.
The World Bank provided US$1 million grant from the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility to strengthen Mongolia’s capacity to respond to the COVID-19. The funding will help purchase essential medical and personal protective equipment to public officers at high-risk screening points and health care providers in selected areas.
The East Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Update (April 2020) analyzes the economic impact of COVID-19 on the region and recommends policy actions countries can take to mitigate the impact, with a particular focus on protecting the poor and vulnerable.

GS25 convenience stores to open in Mongolia www.akipress.com

GS Retail is opening its first stores in Mongolia, with 50 locations planned in the country before the end of 2021, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.