New rail connection between China and Mongolia.

Mongolia opened a new rail line to China yesterday that the landlocked country’s prime minister said would help it weather the zero-Covid controls disrupting cross-border trade with its neighbour. After almost three years of disruption caused by Covid-19 and China’s strict rules, cross-border trade is nearing pre-pandemic levels. Zuunbayan-Khangi is one of three new rail links to China that Luvsannamsrai said would boost export capacity by a further 4,500 cars per day and help lessen Mongolia’s traditional reliance on trucks to carry iron ore, coal and other bulk commodities. Truck traffic across the two countries’ 4,630km frontier has been frequently disrupted because of China’s fears that drivers would transmit the virus.

It links to a newly built counterpart in China that can transport commodities to industrial hubs such as Baotou in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia. Luvsannamsrai became prime minister in January 2021 and has launched a revival policy to boost exports to China, pay down foreign debt and decrease reliance on Russia for energy. He said 90 per cent of exports flowed to China and Mongolia was «wholly dependent» on Russia for energy supplies. Luvsannamsrai said he was optimistic the restricted situation in China would improve next year.

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