Another Victory for Naidan Tüvshinbayar www.ijf.org

August 14 will remain a doubly symbolic date for Naidan Tüvshinbayar. In 2008, the Mongolian judoka became the first Olympic Champion in the sporting history of his country. Twelve years later exactly, on 14th August 2020, he was brilliantly elected President of the Mongolian National Olympic Committee, by an overwhelming majority.

Births decrease by 1.4 percent from previous year www.montsame.mn

China remains Mongolia's top export destination, import supplier www.xinhuanet.com

China remains Mongolia's top export destination in the first seven months of 2020, accounting for 68 percent of Mongolia's total exports, the Mongolian National Statistics Office (NSO) said Thursday.

UNDP Mongolia facilitates multi stakeholder workshop to address the key challenges facing Mongolia’s cashmere industry post COVID-19 www.mn.undp.org

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia – On 13 August, UNDP Mongolia facilitated the “Cashmere Sector Recovery from Covid-19 - Building Forward Better” workshop with key stakeholders of Mongolia’s cashmere industry including public, private and civil society representatives under the guidance of international Systems thinking experts.

Key China-Mongolia railway port sees peak cargo clearances www.innermongolia.chinadaily.com.cn

Ereenhot Port in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region – on the border with Mongolia – is experiencing boom times in rail freight and recently hit peak cargo clearance levels, according to port officials.

Exports decreased by 17.1 percent compared to previous year www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. In the first seven months of 2020, Mongolia traded with 135 countries from all over the world, and the total trade turnover reached USD 6.7 billion, of which USD 3.8 billion were exports and USD 2.9 billion were imports. Total foreign trade turnover decreased by USD 1.3 billion (16.7%), of which exports decreased by USD 782.8 million (17.1%) and imports decreased by USD 565.2 million (16.1%) compared to the same period of the previous year.

Chinese rail speeding towards exciting future by doubling network length within 15 years & introducing 600kph maglev trains www.rt.com

China has unveiled ambitious plans to boost its railway industry over the next 15 years. Part of the vision are maglev lines that can ferry commuters at 600kph, with a prototype train recently approved for trials.
Beijing also plans to build some 200,000km of new railways over 15 years, a blueprint unveiled by China State Railway Group on Wednesday said. As of July, the national network had a total length of 141,400km.

Russia offers to help US with Covid-19 vaccine; US says no www.cnn.com

Moscow (CNN)Russian officials in Moscow tell CNN they have offered "unprecedented cooperation" with Operation Warp Speed (OWS), the US multi-agency body set up to accelerate access to effective Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.

But the officials told CNN that the "US is not currently open" to the Russian medical advances.
"There is a general sense of mistrust of Russia on the American side and we believe that technologies -- including vaccine, testing and treatments -- are not being adopted in US because of that mistrust," one senior Russian official told CNN.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Thursday that President Donald Trump has been briefed on the new Russian vaccine. She said that American vaccines go through "rigorous" Phase 3 testing and high standards.
Other US officials told CNN the Russian vaccine is considered so half-baked in the United States that it hadn't even piqued US interest in a serious way before the rollout. "There's no way in hell the US tries this (Russian vaccine) on monkeys, let alone people," one US government public health official said.
Russia announced on Tuesday that it had developed a vaccine against the coronavirus and President Vladimir Putin said his own daughter had received it. But tests are yet to be completed and some experts are skeptical about the claims.
The race to find an effective vaccine -- more than 20 are in trials around the world -- has global implications, not just for the health of billions of people, but potential billions in revenue for the successful developer and manufacturer.
Russia says US firms interested
Russian officials tell CNN that Russia is open to sharing information about the vaccine and that it would allow US pharmaceutical companies to produce the Russian vaccine on American soil.
CNN previously reported that Russia says some US pharmaceutical companies are interested in learning about the Russian vaccine, although the names of the firms have not been disclosed.

Following the rebuff from the United States, the Russian sources say Washington should "seriously consider adopting" the vaccine, telling CNN the newly approved Russian coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V, could save American lives.
"If our vaccine proves to be one of the most effective, questions will be asked why the US did not explore this option any deeper, why politics got in way of access to a vaccine," one senior Russian official told CNN.
CNN has contacted the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and Operation Warp Speed for comment.
Russia's sovereign wealth fund said in a news conference on Tuesday that at least 20 countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia have expressed interest in the vaccine. Notably, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says he has so much confidence in the vaccine that he'll take it when it arrives in his country, and Mexico's foreign minister said on Thursday morning that Mexico is in "in talks" with Russia about the vaccine.
No testing data released
Developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute, the vaccine was approved by the Russian government before beginning crucial Phase 3 trials in which it would be administered to thousands of people. Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced earlier this week that Phase 3 trials of the vaccine would start this past Wednesday in Russia.
Russia hasn't released any scientific data on its testing and CNN is unable to verify the vaccine's claimed safety or effectiveness.
A senior US official and an adviser to the US government tell CNN that there are no procured samples of the newly announced Russia Covid-19 vaccine in the possession of the US government.
"They have enough disease now in Russia that they could conduct clinical trials but they don't appear to have done that at a large enough scale," said the government adviser who spoke to CNN on the condition no name be used. "There have been no trials of this vaccine. They've done too little work on humans to decide if it works on a larger scale. We're talking totally inadequate safety data."

Russia enacted a law in April which eliminated the requirement for crucial Phase 3 trials to be conducted before approval. This has allowed researchers to fast-track the vaccine development process.
"There's all of this discussion about Emergency Use Authorization -- in the case of a pandemic, there are a number of points where you could make a judgment to say the potential benefits of this vaccine outweigh the risks so we give it Emergency Use Authorization to get it approved quickly. That's basically what Russia just did. It's the October surprise we all fear," the senior US official said.
"But in the end, the risks are far too great. The blowback in this country would be horrific," the senior US official added.
Russia's coronavirus vaccine will be gradually rolled out to high-risk people before a mass vaccination of Russians begins in October.

A former senior US administration official called the Russian vaccine "a joke," adding that Russia didn't complete the three phases of testing, and so no one -- not the World Health Organization or the US -- is taking it too seriously. The source continued to say that China is "much closer to winning the vaccine race."
US government officials and government advisers told CNN they believe China is much more serious and responsible with its own testing. "China is very much wanting to join the world of normal response and regulation and they are trying to do that," one official said.
The American sources noted that they believe the only reason Russia is doing this is for leverage -- mostly, in the hope of exchanging it for strategic assets. Putin, like Trump, is under significant pressure to demonstrate formidable efforts to defeat the virus.
"No one will dare question him (Putin), and Russian standards for efficacy don't match those of the US," one former official said.
This story was reported and written by Matthew Chance and Zahra Ullah in Moscow, and Vivian Salama in Washington DC.

Mongolia’s success and challenges against COVID-19 www.eastasiaforum.org

The COVID-19 pandemic will go down in history because of the extraordinary impact it has had on health, the economy and people’s lives across the world. Mongolia is no exception and sound government policy is essential to steer it through the next phase of the crisis.

Despite its proximity to China and close ties with South Korea, Mongolia responded quickly and with great success against COVID-19. By mid-February, the government declared a state of alert and implemented a broad array of strict measures. Its borders were sealed to everyone (even Mongolian citizens), large public events such as the traditional new year were cancelled, and people were ordered to stay at home.

All levels of schooling were moved online and non-essential businesses were either closed or shifted to work-from-home arrangements. The government has worked closely with the World Health Organization and delivered a succinct message about social distancing, wearing face masks in public, and the need for frequent handwashing. These swift actions successfully barred the spread of the virus and as of early August there is no community transmission and no record of any COVID-19-related deaths.

Yet the lockdown has undoubtedly stalled the economy. The economy shrank by 10.7 per cent in the first quarter and total exports fell by 28 per cent. The transportation sector experienced a 29.4 per cent drop. The mining sector has been hit hard as a full border closure with China has caused mining exports to cease completely. Although mining activity resumed in mid-March, with coal production almost returning to pre-pandemic levels in June, semi-annual production is under half of that in 2019.

Mongolia is no exception to the swathe of countries bolstering their economies with fiscal stimulus measures. The parliament approved a plan to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the pandemic on 9 April and the government’s stimulus package will be in effect between 1 April and 1 October. Measures include personal income tax and social insurance contribution exemptions for both employees and employers, a corporate income tax waiver and a five-fold increase in the Child Money transfer — a welfare program for families with children who live below the poverty line. The initial estimate of the package is MNT5.1 billion (US$1.8 million) and is subject to further changes.

The Bank of Mongolia and the Financial Regulatory Commission have also implemented a slew of temporary financial leniency measures to prevent a financial crisis. They include a 2 per cent drop in interest rates, the relaxation of reserve requirements for commercial banks, a six month deferral of interest and principal repayments, and loan reclassification and restructuring.

Although the stimulus package has brought some relief to businesses and households, delayed government action has been criticised by academics, businesses and the public. In a survey conducted by the Trade and Industry Chamber of Mongolia, 65 per cent of businesses reported a significant fall in revenue due to the lockdown. Within two months, over 52,000 applications (out of 72,209 borrowers) requested to defer mortgage repayments. More than 37,000 loans have been reclassified in accordance with new loan standards.

But the pause in economic activity has already impacted the government’s budget. Mining revenue makes up about 20 per cent of budget revenue, so the fall in mining exports weighs heavily. Tax revenue fell by around 20 per cent and social security contributions were down by 40 per cent in the first half of the year.

Not surprisingly, the biggest increase in expenditure occurred in subsidies and transfers — now 2.5 times that of 2019. While countries tend to avoid unnecessary spending, Mongolia has more than doubled its expenditure on domestic investment. This is despite the fact the government is heavily indebted, with public debt around 65 per cent of GDP — of which 85 per cent is foreign debt and in need of servicing. This hinders the government’s ability to cushion against present and future economic shocks.

Undoubtedly, the poor are being hit the hardest. Mongolia has a relatively high poverty rate of 28.4 per cent as of 2018. This will certainly get worse without government support. Currently, the expanded (albeit temporary) safety net provides some relief for the most economically vulnerable, although a large section of the population will face an elevated risk of falling into poverty when the stimulus package ends in December.

It is almost certain that the COVID-19 recession will deepen further. The government needs to evaluate its impact on the economy and people’s livelihoods in order to enact fiscal stimulus that is both cost-effective and sizeable. The 2020 budget review should be submitted urgently by the new government formed after June parliamentary elections.

The government faces the extraordinary challenge of boosting the economy while preventing a second wave from hitting Mongolian society. More resources need to be allocated to those who are likely to be worst affected. The bottom line is to continue to stop community transmission of the virus while preventing as many people as possible from falling into poverty and supporting the reintegration of workers back into the economy.

Ariun-Erdene Bayarjargal is an Associate Lecturer in Economics at the Australian National University.

First ever railway bridge connecting Russia & China to open in 2022 www.rt.com

The long-awaited cross-border railway bridge linking Russia and China across the Amur river is scheduled to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2022, authorities in Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region announced on Wednesday.
The 2,209-meter-long (1.4 mile) structure will link Russia’s Far East with China’s northernmost Heilongjiang province. The Nizhneleninskoye (Jewish Autonomous Region) to Tongjiang (Heilongjiang province) bridge will be the first railway bridge between the two countries. It is expected to bring bilateral trade to new highs.