Ulaanbaatar
FM: “Chinese side has increased customs fee, not duties”
PoliticsUlaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On December 2, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ts.Munkh-Orgil answered questions of reporters on timely issues.
Reportedly, the Chinese side has increased the taxes on coal and copper. Can you please elaborate this information?
The amount of customs fee has been increased. The new sort of fee will help modernize equipment at the Gants Mod border checkpoint. In other words, imposed are CNY 8.0 per ton of good entering China from Mongolia, and CNY 10.0 per truck or vehicle and a duty equal to 2.0 percent of the value of copper concentrate being exported through the Gants Mod checkpoint. The new regulations are taking force from today. We have been requesting from the Chinese side an official explanation on the decision and outcomes of the new fee regulations and asking if the previous amount of fees can be restored again after the modernization at the border checkpoint.
Bilateral meetings and dialogues with China have been postponed. How is this issue being settled?
The negotiations with the People’s Republic of China have been temporarily postponed. The Government of Mongolia expressed its position in a very clear manner. The Mongolian side will maintain the adherence to its principal position. This tension must not affect relations between our two states. Mongolia reaffirmed its sincere respect for the territorial integrity and independence of the People’s Republic of China, and proposed to resume the bilateral negotiations shortly. Mongolia has been continuing its dialogues and negotiations with its other development partners: IMF, World Bank, Japan, USA and South Korea. The visit of Speaker M.Enkhbold to the Russian Federation will commence on December 16, as arranged. The Government of Mongolia is hosting a consultative meeting with the donors tomorrow. After this, the Minister of Finance, Mr B.Choijilsuren is to visit Japan. In the meantime, myself will be having meetings with our European partners, and so forth, the dialogues are underway.
Has there been any response from the side of PRC?
The matter of resuming the bilateral meetings is not entirely dependent on Mongolia. It is the matter to be discussed with the presence of both sides. We have not yet received any certain response.
