The Chinese economy is in the midst of a long-term restructuring that has seen the decline of low-end industries and the emergence of higher-value factories that make robotics and drones.

“China will promote the digital transformation of traditional sectors, driving more workers to switch jobs and improve the quality of employment,” the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.

In recent months, Chinese government departments and agencies such as the state planner have been affirming their commitment to China’s long-term development, which Beijing sees as a means to rely less on trade and other external drivers.

An intensifying trade war with the United States, China’s biggest trading partner, has obscured China’s medium-term growth outlook and spells uncertainty for millions of Chinese jobs.

Chinese state media has accused Washington of using trade to suppress China’s development.

China will make further inroads into areas such as the internet of things, big data, cloud computing and AI, and create more high-end jobs, the state planner said.

The country will also actively attract foreign talent to promote the innovation of its digital economy, the NDRC said.

China’s digital economy rose 18 percent to 26 trillion yuan ($3.8 trillion) last year, equal to a third of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese people use mobile apps for social networking, entertainment, gaming and shopping. Urban China is also largely cashless, with mobile payments through Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s Alipay the norm.

The NDRC said it will also step up financing support to help grow new industries including drawing funds from capital markets.

Earlier this month, it signed an agreement with China Development Bank (CDB), a major policy lender, to offer 100 billion yuan ($14.55 billion) in financial support for the digital push.

Digital economy is also expected to help boost agriculture, as part of China’s ambition to revive rural areas, according to the NDRC.

The black list includes AeroComposite, owned by Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation; tech equipment producer Divetechnoservice; Federal State Unitary Enterprise Scientific Production Enterprise Gamma; the Vektor Research Institute; construction corporation Nilco Group; Obninsk Research and Production Enterprise Technologiya; the Okeanos Scientific and Production Enterprise; developer and builder of aircraft engines Aviadvigatel; Russia’s developer of IT solutions for electric grids Infotech Group; Syrus Systems; Voronezh-based research institute Vega; and producer of radio electronics and software, Research Institute of Precision Instruments.

The enumerated companies, along with their affiliates in Iran and Belarus, are reportedly at odds with the interests of the national security and foreign policy of the United States. According to the Commerce Department, the Vector Research Institute, Gamma research and production enterprise, Syrus Systems, and the Infotech Group “have enabled the activities of malicious Russian cyber actors.”

Both Divetechnoservice and the Okeanos Scientific and Production Enterprise have been sanctioned for providing equipment and support to the Russian Navy. The rest of the companies were blacklisted for supporting Russian military aerospace production activities.

Bilateral cooperation in the education sector has increased in recent years, and "China has significantly contributed to our country's efforts to end the system of three shifts in schools by giving aid for new schools and kindergartens," says Tsogzolmaa.

According to the minister, a total of 21 schools and kindergartens will be built in Mongolia with aid from China by 2020.

Currently, seven schools and one kindergarten are under construction in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator.

The Mongolian government plans to end the system of three shifts in schools by 2020 in a bid to improve access and the quality of general education, says the minister, adding that to this end, Mongolia will have to build at least 50 new schools.

In addition, she says that China is helping Mongolia to develop a skilled workforce.

"China is the most popular overseas study destination for Mongolian students," she says.

"The number of Mongolian students choosing to study in China is growing. And the number of Mongolian students who receive Chinese scholarships has continued to grow year by year," she adds.

Data shows that since 2012, more than 2,500 Mongolian students have received Chinese government scholarships, and the number has risen to 358 this year.

The number of students from China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region who study in Mongolia has also increased, says Tsogzolmaa. Also, students from both sides serve as a bridge to promote friendship between the two peoples and two countries, she adds.

The minister says Mongolia is keen on enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation with China in education, science, culture and sports under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The initiative proposed by China in 2013 offers a huge opportunity for Mongolia and other participating countries to expand relations and cooperation with China in various fields, Tsogzolmaa says, citing infrastructure, economy, education and culture.

Next year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and China, Tsogzolmaa says, expressing the hope that the neighboring countries will take this opportunity to strengthen ties and cooperation in all areas.

"We are planning to organize a series of events," she says.

"For instance, Mongolian Culture Days will be organized in Beijing and in Hohhot, the capital of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. And Chinese Culture Days will be held in Mongolia next year."

Jiutai is planning to build a coal-to-chemicals facility at Togtoh Industrial Park, Togtoh, Inner Mongolia, which will include a 1m t/y ethylene glycol facility. Ethylene glycol, commonly referred to as mono ethylene glycol (MEG), is typically produced from ethylene. MEG is used as a building block in the production of polyesters for fibre and packaging applications. The new process allows MEG to be produced from syngas feedstocks, thereby eliminating the need for ethylene.

The coal-to-chemicals facility will produce synthetic gas from coal gasification, which will then be converted to methanol and then to formaldehyde which is used to produce the MEG. Johnson Matthey’s technology and catalysts for the production of methanol and formaldehyde will also be used at the Jiutai plant, with the formaldehyde plant having a capacity of 1.5m t/y.

Cui Lianguo, chairman of Jiutai Group, said:

“Jiutai is pleased to select Johnson Matthey and Eastman’s novel technology for the production of MEG. Jiutai’s aim is to utilise local coal and other precious resources, such as water, in a clean and sustainable manner to produce high value MEG at its new coal-to-chemicals complex.”

Used cars imported from Germany are mostly up to three years’ of age: however, 70 percent of the country’s total car imports are from Japan and are aged 4-9 years.

Her grandfather, Kh.Alip was one of deputies who approved the first Mongolian Constitution. When still a child, Aigerym dreamt of becoming a diplomat like her grandfather. Later, she changed her mind to become computer profession.

A total of four Mongolian nationals are working at Apple.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said a slaughterhouse in the city of Hohhot reported the outbreak, adding that four pigs were infected with, and two had died from, African swine fever.

The world’s top pork producer has seen a steady stream of new outbreaks since the first case was reported in early August. Authorities have banned the transport of live hogs and pig products from regions bordering provinces where African swine fever has been reported, shut live markets and banned the use of feed derived from pig blood in order to contain the disease.

But a lack of manpower and financial resources at the local levels has hampered those efforts.

African swine fever is a devastating disease that can cause hemorrhaging in the skin and internal organs and death for swine in two to 10 days.

Though it is not harmful to humans, there is no vaccine and it has many possible ways for transmission including direct contact between animals, animal feed and people traveling from one place to another.

Reporting by Min Zhang and Se Young Lee; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Christian Schmollinger

The campaign, called "Positive, Safe and Responsible Cyber Environment," aims to reduce harmful impacts of modern technological breakthroughs and cyber risks, and induce proper usage of social media, Sodnomtsog Sukh-Ochir, head of the Youth Development Department of Ulan Bator, told Xinhua over the phone.

Under the campaign, 300 students studying information and technology were assigned to call on people to do positive things on preventing cyber crimes and using social media properly, he said.

The number of Internet users has been growing day by day in Mongolia. Two out of three people in the country with a population of over 3 million are Internet users, according to data released by the National Statistical Office.

Cyber-related cases like child sexual abuse through the Internet, creation of child pornography and online fraud have been increasing dramatically in the country in recent years.

In this connection, relevant authorities have carried out a number of measures to prevent risks of cyber crimes in recent months. The campaign is part of the efforts.

Recently, the country's National Police Agency has launched a national campaign to protect children from cyber crimes and strengthen parental control over children's social media usage.

According to the police agency, around 300 cyber crimes have been registered in the country in the first half of this year. Before 2010, the number is about 20.