Belt and Road connects Manzhouli to the world www.chinadaily.com.cn

HOHHOT - Oktyabrina does not know much about the Belt and Road Initiative, but she knows enough about money.

Located in the China-Russia tax-free trade zone in Manzhouli, Oktyabrina's company is doing well; very well. In July, high season in Manzhouli, 2,000 people visit her shop every day, most of them buying imported goodies from Russia.

"Candy and flour are our biggest sellers. Sales are up 20 percent from last July. Tax exemptions mean customers spend less and we earn more. It is the very definition of win-win," said Ding Yanping, Oktyabrina's Chinese business partner. Ding owns 50 percent of the company and is in charge of the shop's daily management.

Oktyabrina's shop is just one of over 50 Russian companies registered in the Manzhouli tax-free zone, attracted by good logistics and speedy customs clearance.

Since it was established last June, 170 million yuan ($25.4 million) - 22,000 tons - of Russian imports has passed through the port.

"The tax-free trade zone is a bridge linking China and Russia sharing the prosperity of both countries. That's what the Belt and Road Initiative is all about," said Zhang Jinzhu, manager of the trade zone.

With a population of 300,000, Manzhouli is important on Eurasian land passageways and the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC). Nearly 70 percent of trade between China and Russia passes through Manzhouli.

"We are integrating our plans with the Belt and Road. We are key to the northward opening-up of Inner Mongolia," said Xu Ailian, mayor of Manzhouli.

The idea of the CMREC emerged in September 2014 during the first trilateral meeting of the heads of state of the three countries in Tajikistan and, in 2016, CMREC became the first multilateral cooperation plan to become part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The CMREC has two key arteries: one from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to Hohhot and on to Mongolia and Russia; the other from China's northeastern provinces through Manzhouli into Russia. The channels have improved connectivity and cooperation in border regions and have led to the overhaul of customs procedures.

In the first seven months of this year, 747 freight trains passed through Manzhouli, carrying goods worth 3.15 billion U.S. dollars, 25 percent more than in the same period last year.

Freight trains link Manzhouli with 28 international destinations, with trains originating as far away as Guangdong in China's deep south.

Manzhouli customs officers work closely with their Russian counterparts.

"We have round-the-clock clearance for goods trains. The faster we clear the cargo, the faster the trains are on their way," said Xu Xuemeng, a logistics monitor with Manzhouli customs. He sees more high-tech products heading to Europe, including computers, home appliances and manufacturing equipment.

As the bridgehead of northward opening-up, Manzhouli is a shining light of economic growth of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, which celebrated its 70th anniversary on Aug 8.

Over seven decades,the region's economy has expanded from 537 million yuan to 1.86 trillion yuan, first among the country's five autonomous regions.

Inner Mongolia's foreign trade has increased from 30 million yuan to 77.3 billion yuan since the beginning of reform and opening up.

"In the future, we will conduct more practical cooperation with Mongolia and Russia to invigorate the grassland Silk Road," said Manzhouli Mayor Xu Ailian.

Rock carvings from China's ancient empire found in central Mongolia www.xinhuanet.com

ULAN BATOR, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- A joint China-Mongolia scientific taskforce has recently completed a study of ancient rock carvings found in Delgerkhangai soum of Mongolia's central Dundgobi province.
The task was jointly done by China's Inner Mongolia University and the Mongolian Chinggis Khan University, with a main purpose of studying the rock inscriptions and drawings allegedly belonging to China's Eastern Han Empire.
Dating back to about 2000 years ago, the ancient rock art was written with more than 250 Chinese characters, and was a sign of victory over the northern Hunnu Empire.
The Hunnu was a nomadic tribe living in what is now Mongolia in the fourth century BC. It warred with the East Han government from time to time.
The rock carvings also coincide with the events recorded in the reference books of the Eastern Han Empire.
Close to the site, there are 11 ancient graves belonging to the Hunnu Empire, noted J.Chimeddorj, deputy director of Inner Mongolia University.
Earlier, professors with Mongolian Chinggis Khan University found inscriptions alongside rock paintings qualified as a type of letter from the Eastern Han Empire. The discovery led to additional research by linguists from China's Autonomous region of Inner Mongolia.

Mongolian Derby: Australian Olympian Ed Fernon wins world's toughest horse race www.abc.net.au

A young Australian Olympian has won the longest and toughest horse race in the world.

Russia cutting dependence on US dollar – economy minister www.rt.com

The Russian government is taking steps to reduce the value of transactions using the American currency in the country, according to Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin.

“There is a big trend toward the de-dollarization of the Russian economy. The central bank has taken some very important steps against loans in foreign currencies," the minister said on Wednesday.
Data from the Central Bank of Russia shows 60 percent of Russia's external debt in August is in US dollars, the lowest since 2014.
Experts say foreign sanctions and central bank policy are making loans in rubles more attractive than in dollars. Rates on ruble deposits are also more attractive than foreign currencies.
In June, Russia reduced its investment in US Treasuries by $5.8 billion, dropping to 14th place among the largest holders of the US debt with $101.9 billion.
However, while loans in rubles are becoming more popular, it’s too soon to say if the Russian economy is ready to live without dollars.
“You need to look at the share of foreign currency deposits. In retail, there is no big decline, the share of foreign currency deposits remains at 23 percent, it is quite stable over the past year," said Alfa-Bank chief economist Natalia Orlova in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Last week, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said the Russian government would intensify efforts to cut the country’s dependence on US payment systems and the dollar as a settling currency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly urged the economy and finance ministries to cut dollar dependence in the Russian economy as relations between Moscow and Washington have soured.

Ulaanbaatar hosts INT’L Trade Union Confederation's regional meeting www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ 15th meeting of the International Trade Union Confederation’s Asia- Pacific Regional General Council of started today at the Blue Sky Hotel Conference Room, Ulaanbaatar to discuss issues of trade unions’ rights and labor relations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Dalai Lama ‘Dreams’ of NATO Relocating to Moscow www.themoscowtimes.com

In a recent interview with Russian media in India, the Dalai Lama voiced a radical proposal to reduce tensions between NATO and Russia.

Police detain central figure in mining's largest corruption scandal www.mining.com

Diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz and four others were taken into custody by Israeli police on Tuesday on suspicion of fraud, forgery, obstruction of justice and bribery.

This is the second arrest of Steinmetz as part of a joint Swiss, Israeli and US probe over allegations that BSGR, the billionaire Israeli-French businessman's mining company, bribed government officials in Guinea in order to obtain mining rights over the vast Simandou iron ore deposit.

The UK's Telegraph newspaper reports that Steinmetz could be held until Thursday. Steinmetz who denies any wrongdoing and was not charged with a crime again blamed hedge fund billionaire George Soros for running a defamation campaign:

“I feel terrible that the state of Israel is doing this to me. This is customary in totalitarian states. It's like a dictatorship that decides and marks people,” Mr Steinmetz said.

“There is nothing, the whole investigation is nothing. There are those who have marked us here. It's political. George Soros marked me. We did not do anything.”
BSGR acquired the rights to one half of Simandou (stripped from Anglo-Australian giant Rio Tinto over development delays) in 2008 when Guinea was under military rule.

After spending $170 million advancing the project BSGR signed a $2.5 billion deal with Brazil's Vale in 2010 to jointly develop the project, but the Rio de Janeiro company only paid out $500 million before Guinea stripped BSGR’s rights in 2014.

The UK’s anti-fraud investigating body said last month it is probing Rio's dealings in Guinea involving Simandou. In November last year Melbourne-based Rio fired two executives involved in the project after an internal investigation uncovered a $10.5m payment in 2011 to a French national acting as a go-between with the West African nation’s government.

Rio, the world’s second largest mining company, announced in October it was exiting the project by selling its stake to former partner Chinalco for up to $1.3 billion. Rio has spent more than $3 billion advancing the project (including a $700m payment to the Guinea government to resolve "outstanding issues" in April 2011) having first acquired the property in the late nineties.

Rio last year had its lawsuit for damages against BSGR and Vale dismissed in a New York court. BSGR is still seeking international arbitration over the loss of its Simandou mining rights.

In June, ex-Wall Street banker Mahmoud Thiam who served as Guinea’s mining minister during 2009–2010 was convicted of laundering $8.5 million he was alleged to have taken to help a Chinese company gain mining concessions. Guinea is one of the world's largest producers of bauxite, the primary ore used in the production of aluminum.

With complete control of Simandou, Beijing-based Chinalco may revive the stalled project for the southern block of the 2 billion-tonne deposit of high-grade iron ore, but the cloudy outlook for prices for the steelmaking raw material now trading around $70 a tonne after peaking in 2011 at $190 may deny Guineans a windfall again.

The original $20 billion agreement signed in 2014 with the backing of the World Bank (which has since withdrawn support) called for a new 650km railway to Conakry, Guinea's capital in the north, plus a new deep water port at a conservatively estimated cost of $7 billion, and infrastructure investments that would double the economy of the impoverished country.

Russia & Japan to develop tourism in disputed Kuril Islands www.rt.com

Moscow and Tokyo are discussing the possibility of organizing cruises around the South Kuril Islands, the Kyodo news agency reports quoting diplomatic sources. This is a part of a plan to develop business links in the disputed territories.

Qatar to open embassy in Mongolia www.news.mn

Mongolian President Kh.Battulga received H.E. Sultan Mansoori, Ambassador to Mongolia from Qatar earlier today (15th of August). 

No left turn! New traffic rules for Ulaanbaatar's 'Peace Avenue' www.news.mn

Starting from yesterday (August 15th), left turns are to be prohibited on Ulaanbaatar's main thoroughfare, Peace Avenue, between the Western Central Intersection and the Eastern Central Intersection. The decision has been made to decrease the pressure of traffic on the main roads of the Mongolian capital.