Models from China and Mongolia display colorful Mongolian costume to the audience at the opening of the first China-Mongolia Expo in Hohhot, capital city of Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]
The fourth China-Mongolia Expo, scheduled to run from Sept 6 to 10 in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, is becoming an important platform for promoting economic and trade exchanges between the two countries and boosting regional development, officials said on Friday.
Li Fei, vice-minister of commerce, told a news conference that the expo, with a special focus on shoring up economic and trade cooperation, is oriented toward Northeast Asian countries and now has an extended outreach to countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
The expo has been playing an important role in boosting the shared development of sectors such as infrastructure, food processing, advanced manufacturing, modern services, new energy, new materials, and digital economy in China and Mongolia, Li said.
To date, over 3,000 enterprises from 35 countries and regions have signed up for the expo. With the number of participants at new high, the event will leverage venues that covers 92,000 square meters in combined figures, said Yang Jin, vice-chairman of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
The expo has become an important platform to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between China and Mongolia, promote the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, and enhance the connection of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, Yang said.
China has been Mongolia's largest trading partner for years. The bilateral trade between the two countries grew 34 percent year-on-year to $12.2 billion in 2022, and sustained strong growth momentum in the first half of this year with a 62.6 percent surge compared to the same period last year, according to the ministry.
