Chinese Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng meets with Sandag Byambatsogt, Mongolia's minister of road and transport development via video link on November 23, 2022. Photo: Wechat account of Ministry of Transport

China's minister of transport and his Mongolian counterpart held a video meeting on Wednesday, during which the two sides exchanged in-depth views on relevant issues in the field of transport between China and Mongolia, including cooperation in highways, railways and civil aviation, read a post on the official WeChat account of the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MOT).

The dialogue came just ahead of a state visit to China by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh from November 27 to 28, according to the diplomatic agenda released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

During the Wednesday meeting, Li Xiaopeng, Chinese minister of transport, said that in recent years, the economic and trade relations between China and Mongolia have been developing rapidly, and the demand for cooperation in transport, including infrastructure construction and connectivity, has been expanding.

"It is hoped that the transport authorities will further enhance the transport connectivity between China and Mongolia, ensure the security, stability and smooth flow of the logistics supply chain, and promote the bilateral transport cooperation to a new level, so as to better serve the economic and social development of the two countries and benefit people," said Li.

In the first half of 2022, China and Mongolia's bilateral trade accounted for more than 60 percent of Mongolia's total foreign trade volume, according to customs data.

Sandag Byambatsogt, Mongolia's minister of road and transport development, said that Mongolian transport authorities attach great importance to deepening friendly and cooperative relations with Chinese transport authorities.

"It is hoped that the two sides will work together to further strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in railway, road and civil aviation, and jointly carry out the revision of relevant cooperation agreements so as to continuously enhance bilateral transport connectivity and push for more achievements in bilateral transport cooperation," said Byambatsogt.

Li also said the two sides aim to jointly revise the agreement on international road transport between China and Mongolia and actively promote China-Mongolia-Russia international road transport cooperation along the Asian Highway 4 (AH4) of the Asian Highway Network.

"We will complete the revision of the China-Mongolia border railway agreement at an early date and improve the capacity of railway ports to transport goods. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in the field of civil aviation and further facilitate personnel and economic and trade exchanges," said Li.

In September, the first China-Mongolia cargo train since the launch of a new "railway express" service featuring rapid customs clearance departed from Ulanqab in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Mongolia.

The railway express service uses digital and paperless administration, allowing customs to conduct inspections of the cargo goods online while simplifying the application procedures, according to a statement sent to the Global Times from the Customs of Jining in Ulanqab.

"China looks forward to working with Mongolia to take the visit of the Mongolian president as an opportunity to deepen our strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation and set an example in neighborly relations to elevate China-Mongolia relations to a new height," said Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of China, on Tuesday during a regular press conference.

Global Times