Chinese tech aids Mongolia's green, industry goals

China-backed green technologies and ecological projects are helping Mongolia balance economic growth and land restoration as desertification affects more than 70 percent of its territory, with the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) being held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital city, from Aug 17 to Friday.

Mongolia's economy relies heavily on mining and livestock farming, creating an urgent need to protect fragile grasslands while developing key industries. Chinese enterprises are providing effective green solutions to support Mongolia's national One Billion Trees initiative.

China-Mongolia ecological cooperation has been expanded. The China-Mongolia Desertification Prevention and Control Cooperation Center was inaugurated in Ulaanbaatar in September 2023 to support Mongolia's green drive.

At the Ulan Mine operated by China Railway Resources Group's Xinxin Company, advanced green systems have been put into full use. A closed-loop tailings water recycling system enables nearly all production water to be reused, greatly saving water resources and reducing environmental risks. The mine also boasts Mongolia's first back-filling mining system, which refills underground cavities to prevent surface subsidence and protect vegetation.

The company has protected more than 10 springs near the mine and carried out large-scale revegetation. By 2025, it had planted over 12,000 trees and restored dozens of hectares of land. It provides more than 1,100 stable jobs, with over 90 percent of employees being Mongolian nationals, and has established partnerships with more than 30 local businesses.

Local herder Gankhimig said her two children used to make a living from tending livestock, but saw a clear income increase after they started working at the mine. The family has also taken part in tree-planting activities organized by the mine.

In the Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia, China's M-Grass Ecology and Environment Group is providing technical support for a 400-hectare saxaul forest project, another important part of the One Billion Trees project. The region has extremely harsh natural conditions, with vegetation cover below 10 percent, annual precipitation of only about 104 millimeters and extreme temperatures ranging from — 31.5 C to 42.2 C.

Wang Junfang, technical team leader of the project, said the survival of saxaul seedlings depends on careful planning and detailed work. To reduce damage to the desert surface and native plants, the team reduced the diameter of planting pits from 40 centimeters to 20 cm.

The project planned to plant 330,000 saxaul seedlings. Field surveys started in May 2025, and 80 hectares were planted last autumn. Another 200 hectares will be completed this autumn using the "mechanical digging plus manual planting" method. A 10-hectare research zone has been established to test over 20 Mongolian native plant species and adapt China's desert-control technologies to local conditions.

The project used a water-saving irrigation plan that mainly depends on natural rainfall. Two years after the saxaul trees mature, the team planned to test grafting cistanche, a medicinal plant, and carry out carbon sequestration monitoring, combining ecological restoration with local economic benefits.

M-Grass is also cooperating with a Mongolian partner on mine restoration and an 8-hectare mine-slope restoration pilot project.

Oyunsanaa Byambasuren, director-general of Mongolia's Forestry Administration, spoke highly of China's rich experience in desertification control, which has been widely recognized worldwide. He said the "China Corner", a themed exhibition in the Blue Zone at COP17, provided valuable experience for Mongolia and other countries, and bilateral cooperation has broad prospects.

Fan Lijun, director of the Belt and Road Initiative Research Institute at the Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Sciences, said the cooperation that combines China's technologies with local conditions achieves both ecological protection and industrial development, serving as a new highlight of practical cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor.

renqi@chinadaily.com.cn