Construction projects strengthen bonds of Chinese-Mongolian friendships

After finishing her studies at Beijing University of Technology, Otgonbaya Urna returned to Mongolia and joined China Railway No 4 Engineering Group in September 2016 as a project coordinator.

Though busy with her work building a Development Center for Disabled Children, she was also very proud to be helping the Chinese State builder with translations covering tax exemption for import and export materials, as well as with local procurement and archiving of project completion acceptance.

"She is very professional, conscientious and hard working, and has helped us a lot," said Lyu Haiyun, a CREC4 project leader in Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital.

The bond of friendship between the Chinese and Mongolian peoples is rooted in fine traditions, mutual respect and shared visions. Since the 1950s, Chinese aid workers have been traveling to Mongolia to help construct over 850 projects, he said.

Lyu added that the projects adhered to a people-oriented approach, ensuring that the cooperation always benefits the Mongolian people.

While building the Development Center for Disabled Children in Mongolia, CREC4 provided over 1,000 jobs for locals, with the number of Mongolian employees reaching more than 70 percent, Lyu said.

Sohobater, 40, was one of the participants. Prior to this job, he primarily made a living by herding some 100 sheep, earning slightly over 20,000 yuan ($2,966) each year.

After joining the project in September 2016, he became a Mongolian employee of CREC4. "I was actually quite hesitant at first, worrying about poor living conditions, unfamiliar food, language barriers and communication difficulties," he said.

Understanding this, the project department built a Mongolian yurt for him, set up a Mongolian staff canteen and even sent gifts during festivals and holidays.

When teaching him how to tile, Chinese master colleague Zhang Ruimin demonstrated the process with great care, helping Sohobater grow into a team leader managing 24 Mongolian employees. Sohobater was awarded the title of "Excellent Mongolian Employee" every month.

"My work here has changed my life completely and taught me skills. I love my Chinese colleagues and our relationship is like that of brothers and sisters," he said.

But the road to full cooperation was not smooth at first. CREC4 employee Wang Jilin, who has been stationed in Mongolia for 11 years, recalled the job of building the two-way six-lane expressway leading to the new airport in Ulaanbaatar between June 2016 and October 2018.

"When the construction work on this 32-kilometer highway officially commenced on June 6, 2016, we faced a big challenge — our Mongolian employees were not used to working overtime," he said. "Though we discussed this with them, they were still unwilling to do it."

"When the Chinese employees learned of the situation with the tight schedule, they all said: 'we can do it ourselves'. I was almost moved to tears," recalled Deng Erlong, the then CREC4 project manager.

Mongolian nights in September are bitterly cold, but the construction site was brightly lit and all the Chinese employees went outside to measure data and elevations, and took shovels to begin their work.

After the Mongolian builders visited the site at night, they changed their minds after seeing the busy scene and actively joined in the construction.

In 2020, the expressway project won the "Luban Award" as an overseas engineering undertaking for the National High Quality Project.

During the expressway's construction, CREC4 partnered with over 30 enterprises in Mongolia, creating over 1,000 local jobs and cultivating various professional talents and technical workers in highway construction.

When Mongolia's Badakh road and bridge company cooperated with CREC4 in 2017, it only had five engineers. Now, it has more than 20 engineers, over 100 technical workers and more than 60 types of construction machinery.

Its Deputy General Manager Sayinsur said: "From being able to build roads that are only seven or eight meters wide to now being proficient in building roads that are 14 meters wide, Chinese builders have generously passed their guidance on to us, greatly improving our technology. We thank them sincerely."

In building the central sewage treatment plant project in Ulaanbaatar, CREC4 hired over 600 local Mongolian laborers and trained more than 50 local technical professionals, Lyu said.

The bonds of friendship developed even further. Ganbgatu, from CREC4 International Business Department, went to work on the central sewage treatment plant project in Ulaanbaatar.

In 2022, he met local girl Eenhhosharura, and by gradually understanding and respecting each other's culture and values, they got married on May 20, 2024.

"In the future, we will contribute our own strength in helping bolster the high-quality development of CREC4," said Ganbgatu.

Sohobater noted: "China's aid to Mongolia is sincere, selfless, beneficial to people's livelihoods and of high quality and quantity. We appreciate it very much."