China expands economic corridor with Mongolia, Russia

HUHHOT - Mongolian designer Ganchimeg never imagined her clothing store in Inner Mongolia's Erenhot City could be so popular that sometimes she is too busy to stop for a drink of water.

"I came to China two years ago and have seen trade fairs and expos between the two countries rise. I met buyers at these events, and the orders just keep coming," Ganchimeg said.

Ganchimeg has to make 20 Mongolian robes and ten costumes this month. She has hired two tailors from Mongolia's capital Ulan Bator. "But we are still busy," she said.

Ganchimeg used to be a tourist guide in Mongolia. She decided to open a business in China after many Chinese tourists she worked with showed a keen interest in Mongolian culture.

"An increasing number of tourists from China enter Mongolia on their way to Ulan-Ude in Russia," Ganchimeg said.

Many tourists arrive in Mongolia on the the Erenhot-Ulan Bator-Ulan-Ude route, one of the main routes on the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor. The trilateral channel aims to boost transportation connectivity and economic cooperation in border regions.

The plan was signed by leaders of the three countries in June, marking a new stage of cooperation. It has already brought benefits to many.

Ubmall, a cross-border e-commerce platform, launched in 2014 by a foreign economic and trade company based in Erenhot, now has over 1,600 registered Chinese shops selling products to Mongolia.

In 2015, the company expanded its business, providing fast customs clearance services for e-business between China and Russia.

Parcels bound for Mongolia and Russia were delivered by train through Erenhot land port, said Li Pengyuan, a co-founder of Ubmall.mn, adding that the route is an effective supplement to the transportation routes between China, Mongolia and Russia, via ports of Manzhouli and Suifenhe.

"We deal over 20,000 packages daily, and the figure is expected to rise in the second half of this year," he said.

According to the frontier inspection station, in the first half of 2016, 58 trains carrying 2,414 cars of goods passed through the Mongolian port of Erenhot, up 1.5 fold year on year.

The economic corridor has also accelerated other cross-border transportation infrastructure projects, said Tumen-Tsetseg, a regional assessment researcher and professor with Inner Mongolia University, adding that it will boost economic cooperation between the three countries to cover more fields, such as culture, tourism and medicine.

"In turn, a better cultural cooperation will further accelerate the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor," she said.