Trucks testing new highway enter Mongolia
chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2023-09-26 16:02
Nine trucks traversing a new highway linking China, Mongolia and Russia in the first test of the route entered Mongolia on Saturday after traveling 577 kilometers through China.
The Fourth Asian Highway, designed to consolidate regional social and economic cooperation, runs for 2,253 kilometers from Urumqi, in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, to Novosibirsk in Siberia, Russia.
The trucks, dispatched by China, Russia and Mongolia, left Urumqi on Friday and are scheduled to reach Novosibirsk on Thursday.
Their 758-kilometer route through Mongolia runs through the provinces of Khovd and Bayan-Ulgii.
Enkhbat Ochirsuren, an official from Mongolia's Ministry of Road and Transport Development expressed his gratitude for the hard work of the truck drivers and border workers at a welcoming ceremony in Bulgan, Mongolia, on Saturday. Enkhbat said the highway was a crucial measure to accelerate the development of economic cooperation among the three countries.
The deputy director of transport services at China's Ministry of Transport, Xuan Dengdian, said the trial operation was a historic journey that would help provide a platform for communication and trade exchanges. No schedule for the official opening has been announced.
Vladimir Molchanov, the director of Russia's Motor Transport Agency, said the new route would add vigor to the already strong economic and trade ties in the Asia-Pacific region.
Li Menghan in Beijing and Lu Rui in Bulgan, Mongolia contributed to this story.
