Mongolia leads the world in tourism growth www.news.mn

The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, has stated that tourism is the world’s third largest export category, earning USD 1.3 trillion in 2017: an increase of five percent. It said that Mongolia is leading the world with its tourism growth as international arrivals increased by 16.1 percent in 2016-2017. Mongolia received 542 thousand international arrivals in 2017; 469.3 thousand were tourists which represents a 65.1 thousand increase on 2016.

Gold purchases by Mongolia's central bank expected to reach 21 tons this year www.xinhuanet.com

ULAN BATOR, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Gold purchases by the Bank of Mongolia are expected to reach 21 tons by end of this year, according to the central bank.

China to mark economic miracle that pulled 700 million people out of poverty www.rt.com

China has pledged more economic reforms to push growth higher and help offset any impact from the US trade conflict. It comes as the world’s second-largest economy marks the 40th anniversary of “reform and opening up” this week.
Statistics show that more than 700 million Chinese people have shaken off poverty since Beijing started its program of economic reforms four decades ago. The figure accounts for over 70 percent of global poverty reduction during that period.

BoM keeps interest rate at 11% www.zgm.mn

About three weeks after increasing the interest rate by 1 percent, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Mongolia (BoM) called another meeting and decided to keep interest rate at 11 percent considering the current situation of economy outlook and business activation.

Pollution alert in Mongolian capital www.news.mn

On 17 December, 2018, at 12:00 pm, air pollution levels of 1168 µg/m³ (in all 100 Ail districts) were reported – this is 3.3-3.6 times the WHO guidelines for the 24-hour mean concentration which is set at 25 μg/m35

80 million livestock but Mongolians can’t afford meat www.news.mn

Mongolian livestock has now surged to record numbers, far in excess of domestic demand. The total number reached 66.2 million animals at the end of 2017, which is an increase of approximately 7.8% from 2016. The number of livestock reached 80 million in June after the birth of 18 million young animals in the spring.

KOICA and UNICEF sign cooperation agreement to improve Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene services in Mongolia www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ The Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) will join efforts over next three years to strengthen the resilience of children and their communities to climate change through enhanced access to quality and reliable water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in Mongolia.

CNOOC launches Tianjin section of Western Inner Mongolia Pipeline www.interfaxenergy.com

China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) officially launched the Tianjin section of the Western Inner Mongolia Pipeline on 13 December, the company said on Friday.

Steppe Gold nears production in Mongolia www.canadaminingjournal.com

Since Steppe Gold (TSXV: STGO) purchased Altan Tsaagan Ovoo (ATO) from Centerra Gold (TSX: CG) for $19.8 million in January 2017, the junior has made steady progress de-risking and building the heap leach, gold-silver project in eastern Mongolia.

The economic corridor "China-Mongolia-Russia": problems and development prospects www.iopscience.iop.org

Abstract. The article describes the problems of creating the economic corridor ChinaMongolia-Russia.
The issues of interaction between the three countries on joining the Chinese initiative of the economic belt of the Silk Road, the Mongolian concept of the "Steppe Way"
and the Russian idea of building the Eurasian Economic Union are studied. The problems of implementation of the "Program of creation of economic corridor China – Mongolia – Russia" are revealed. The necessity of specification of the list of investment projects and determination of the membership of the participants is substantiated. The expediency of the creation of a
permanent tripartite intergovernmental Commission for the implementation of the Program of creation of the China – Mongolia – Russia economic corridor, headed by high officials of each country, is justified. The commission is proposed to allocate several subcommissions in
various areas, including transport infrastructure, trade, energy, industry, humanitarian cooperation and other areas of activity. The necessity of the establishment in each of the three countries of the state commissions for the implementation of the Program, the activities of
which should be aimed at the preparation of specific projects, the appointment of stakeholders,
the involvement of specialists and experts is substantiated. The expediency of placing the state
commissions of Russia and China in the administrative centers of the regions, most connected
with the economic corridor is shown in Ulan-Ude (the Russian Federation) and Hohhot (China)
is pointed out.
1. Introduction
In the context of globalization, the creation of economic corridors as instruments of international
cooperation in transport, logistics, trade and other spheres of activity is an important area of development of neighboring countries [1]. Several corridors are being promoted through regional cooperation initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa [2]. In the Asia-Pacific region, regional corridors are being developed with the support of the
Asian development Bank [3]. The creation of economic corridors with neighboring countries in the
framework of the development of Eurasian cooperation is an urgent task for Russia [4]. In this context,
the initiative to create an international economic corridor China-Mongolia-Russia, approved by the
leaders of the three countries, is very important. It fits in with the plans of trilateral cooperation, allows
to "dovetailing" regional development strategy: the Chinese initiative of the economic belt of the Silk
Road, the Mongolian concept of "Steppe way" and the Russian idea of building the Eurasian economic
Union [5]. The creation of a trilateral economic corridor can become a strong impetus for the development of the adjacent Siberian regions [6]. The increase in freight traffic will increase the efficiency of the use of the Trans-Siberian Railway, highways and other infrastructure.
2. Models and Methods
The author analyzes the factors influencing the efficiency of the economic corridor China-MongoliaRussia.
The terrestrial nature of the corridor reduces its competitiveness in comparison with sea
communications: the delivery of cargo for long distances by water transport is much cheaper. Thus,
the opening of the Suez Canal made the transportation of tea to Central Russia by sea more profitable
than by the Great tea route [7]. In general, relatively high transport tariffs on the land route reduce its
attractiveness for interested parties (trade companies, buyers, etc.).
The competitive advantages of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor are the security of
the transport route running through conflict-free areas, as well as the high speed of cargo delivery [8].
It is necessary to study the market for possible transport by type of transport, distance, volumes and
types of cargo, as well as comparative analysis with alternative transport routes taking into account
safety, speed of delivery and insurance costs [9].
A significant part of the economic corridor passes through Mongolia and Siberian regions of Russia, characterized by low population density and low economic potential. Therefore, the activities carried out within the framework of the tripartite corridor have little impact on the development of the respective territories. On the contrary, in the densely populated regions, the creation of transport
communications (railroads and highways, bridges, ports, etc.), aimed at increasing transit traffic, is a
powerful impetus for the development of the local economy. The relatively low potential for
economic activity in the territories adjacent to the economic corridor China-Mongolia-Russia reduces
the attractiveness of relevant investment projects for potential investors, including the Asian Bank for
Infrastructure Investments, the Asian Development Bank.
Due to the high cost of investment projects to create new transport infrastructure, including railway
and road sections, it is advisable to concentrate on the main transport corridors. By rail, this route is
Erlian-Ulan-Bator-Naushki-Ulan-Ude [10].
By road, the main route is Erlian-Ulan-Bator-Kyakhta-Ulan-Ude. The Eastern and Western corridors, including the Trans-Baikal territory and, accordingly, the Republic of Tuva, are complementary and can be developed in the implementation of relevant investment projects.
The effectiveness of the economic corridor depends to a large extent on institutional factors,
including the existence of a stakeholder engagement mechanism.
In 2016, the heads of the three States signed the "Program for the creation of the China – Mongolia
– Russia economic corridor" (hereinafter – the Program), which aims to provide conditions for the
development and expansion of trilateral cooperation [11].
The Program provides for the implementation of joint projects aimed at increasing trade, ensuring
the competitiveness of products, facilitating cross-border transport and infrastructure development.
The projects cover the construction of a cross-border highway and railway, the development of
transit transport, the expansion of cooperation in the industrial, energy, tourism, educational and
scientific and technical sectors, in the field of agriculture, environment, health and humanitarian
exchanges.
In accordance with the Program, from each country, the authorized executive bodies responsible
for its implementation are established - the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian
Federation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, the State Committee for Development and
Reform of the People's Republic of China. The Program contains a general provision on the
mechanism of its implementation: the authorized bodies should meet at least once a year to monitor
the implementation of the Program and projects, as well as to agree on the necessary measures for
their further implementation.

At the same time, at present the Program is a framework document specifying the goals, directions
and principles of interaction. Most of the declared projects are not, in fact, projects. It is necessary to
specify them, to allocate investment projects and to define the list of participants.
The author identifies the main organizational problems of the implementation of the ChinaMongolia-Russia
Economic Corridor Program. First, there are significant difficulties in interaction organizing between stakeholders. It is not always possible to establish cooperation between the state, business structures, public and expert organizations within one country. It is much more difficult to do this at the international level. Moreover, all three participating countries - Russia, Mongolia and
China, vary greatly in economic potential, state structure, development goals and priorities.
Difficulties in interstate communications are significant, as the state languages belong to different
language groups. Secondly, the Program is multidisciplinary and covers issues of interaction in
various fields of activity - from transport infrastructure to humanitarian cooperation. All this
complicates the implementation of the Program and determines the need to create appropriate
mechanisms.
It should be noted that these organizational problems, with all the features in general, are of a
general nature. They were typical for the creation of other economic corridors, including the Great
Mekong, the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation, and the Economic Corridor of
Bangladesh - China - India - Myanmar.
The unique features of the studied economic corridor include:
 participation in the corridor of the two largest countries in the world-Russia and China;
 the transit character of Mongolia;
 a huge length of the territory of one country - Russia.
The large scale of the economic corridor determines the existence of a specific problem of
coordination of activities between the central and regional governments of Russia and China.
3. Results and Discussion
First, it is reasonable to establish a permanent trilateral intergovernmental Commission on the
Implementation of the China – Mongolia – Russia economic corridor Program, headed by high
officials of each country. It should be composed of several sub-commissions (working groups) in the
following areas: transport infrastructure, trade, energy, industry, humanitarian cooperation, etc. This
will allow solving issues of trilateral cooperation between the countries quickly and effectively.
The main task of the tripartite commission will be selection of projects and executors, identification
of funding sources. The projects are expected to be financed from public and private investments, as
well as from the resources of international financial institutions that were established relatively
recently: the Asian Bank for Infrastructure Investments, the New Development Bank of BRICS, the
Interbank Association of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Silk Road Fund. In order
to provide scientific and expert support to the projects, the Association of Expert Centers of Russia,
Mongolia and China (hereinafter - the Association) should be involved in the work of the intergovernmental commission, whose activities should be aimed at collecting, processing and analyzing information on the problems of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor.
Secondly, for the qualitative and timely preparation of documents related to the implementation of
the Program, in each country of the three countries it is necessary to create state commissions for the
implementation of the Program. In our opinion, these commissions could be headed by representatives
of the authorized executive bodies responsible for the implementation of the Program - the Ministry of
Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, and
the State Committee for Development and Reform of the People's Republic of China. The main task of
the commissions could be the preparation of documents for the meetings of the tripartite
intergovernmental commission. Their activities should be aimed at the preparation of specific projects,
the identification of stakeholders, the involvement of specialists and experts, etc.
In order to promptly resolve the issues, the state commissions of Russia and China with the
corresponding state should be located in the regions, most connected with the economic corridor in Ulan-Ude (Russian Federation) and Hohhot (China). The Russian commission should include a plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Siberian Federal Region, governors and heads of interested subjects of the Russian Federation, heads of territorial departments of federal agencies related to the development of the economic corridor, representatives
of the expert center of Russia on the economic corridor. One of the tasks of the Commission should be
coordination of activities for the preparation and implementation of projects between the participants
of the Program-Federal and regional governments, business structures, foreign partners, investors, etc.
Thirdly, it is necessary to build in the system some activities for the implementation of the
Program. The author suggests a sequence of stages in the reverse order in time.
1. The most important event for the implementation of the Program is the meeting of the heads of
Russia, Mongolia and China. In 2014-2017, such meetings were held within the framework of the
summit of the SCO member states.
2. In order to prepare for the summit meetings, in our opinion, it is necessary to create and hold a
tripartite intergovernmental commission for the implementation of the Program with the participation
of representatives of the Association of Expert Centers of China, Mongolia and Russia. It seems
expedient to hold preliminary meetings of think tanks within the framework of the Association Forum.
3. In each participating country the meetings of state commissions should be held for the
implementation of the Program with the participation of representatives of the Association.
4. Preparation of documents for the meeting of the state commission. In each participating country
the collection and preliminary selection of projects and proposals for the implementation of the
Program are to be organized and conducted.
For the successful implementation of the Program, in addition to the institutional mechanism, it is
necessary to determine the financial mechanism, including the involvement of public, private and
international financial institutions. Especially, it is necessary to highlight the legal and regulatory
framework of the Program, paying particular attention to interstate interaction in various fields.
4. Conclusion
The Program for the creation of the economic corridor China-Mongolia-Russia is a large-scale and at
the same time a framework document. The need to fill the Program with concrete projects determines
the urgency of the task of developing mechanisms for its implementation. For coordinated interaction
between the three countries, it is advisable to create a tripartite intergovernmental Commission with
the allocation of sub-commissions in certain areas. It is proposed to organize and streamline the
interaction of the representatives of the Association of Expert Centers of Russia, Mongolia and China
with the authorities of the respective countries.
Creation of clear mechanisms for the implementation of the Program, including the sequence of
organizational arrangements, is a prerequisite for its success.
Acknowledgements
The work was supported by the comprehensive program of fundamental scientific research of the SB

Z Dondokov
Buryat Scientific Centre, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, UlanUde,
Russia
E-mail: dzorikto@mail.ru

RAS No. II.1
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