Mongolia eyes business opportunities at China-Mongolia expo

ULAN BATOR, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) — Mongolia will explore ways of expanding trade and investment cooperation with China at the upcoming China-Mongolia expo.

The third edition of the biennial China-Mongolia expo is scheduled for Sept. 6-10 in Hohhot, the capital of China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and in the cities of Tongliao and Ulanqab in the region.

“Mongolian companies have already been ready to participate in the expo. The expo is a great chance for our country to further boost trade ties with China, which is the world’s second-largest economy,” Banzai Batkhuu, head of the Light Industry Policy Implementation and Coordination Department at the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, told Xinhua in a recent interview, noting that Mongolia attaches great importance to the expo.

About 400 companies are expected to attend this year’s expo, which will be organized under core programs of the exhibition, covering cultural exchanges, conferences and investment, said Batkhuu.

“At a meeting on investment, the two sides will seriously discuss opportunities for cooperation in the cashmere industry. I am confident that, thanks to the meeting, Mongolian cashmere manufacturers will attract a huge investment and seize great business opportunities,” he said.

The official said that as contributors of more than 90 percent of the world’s cashmere output, there is great potential for Mongolia and China to cooperate in the industry.

Mongolian wool, cashmere and leather products are most in demand among Chinese consumers at the expo.

“Our company will participate in the expo for the third time. Finding its stable position in the vast Chinese market is our company’s main goal,” Tuguldur Enkhtur, CEO of Only One, a manufacturer of genuine leather bags and accessories, told Xinhua.

Enkhtur expressed the hope that the forthcoming expo will help the company achieve its goal and find business partners.

“Chinese consumers are very interested in organic Mongolian cashmere and wool products. We have participated in various exhibitions in China and have a number of loyal customers there,” Tserennorov Anudari, designer of the Goyol Cashmere company, told Xinhua.

“We will showcase two new collections at the expo, with the aim to increase the number of our loyal customers and study opportunities to open our own shop in Inner Mongolia,” said Anudari.

Traditional Mongolian clothes are one of the best-selling items at the expo.

Shilmel Zagvar fashion center, the oldest fashion house in Mongolia, is going to attend the expo for the first time to showcase traditional Mongolian clothes with a perfect combination of design and style, Tumenbayar Bolor, designer of the center, told Xinhua.

“The expo is a great chance (for us) to explore ways to expand our business and find new business partners from China,” she added.

Mongolia and China have set a 10-billion-U.S.-dollar target for bilateral trade by 2020. It is said that the expo will play a major role in achieving the target.

More than 380 Mongolian businesses participated in the second China-Mongolia expo held in Hohhot in 2017, exhibiting products in around 400 categories, according to data from the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation at the Mongolian Foreign Ministry.