Infrastructure landscape in the transborder region of Russia, Mongolia and China: Transformations and landmarks

Abstract

The article discusses ongoing and expected changes in the infrastructure landscape in the zone of the China - Mongolia - Russia economic corridor. Ensuring infrastructure connectivity is becoming a common task for the three countries in order to competitively integrate into the world’s logistics routes. The author analyzes the factors influencing the intensification of cross-border interactions, highlighting the general trend of growing demand on land transportation in Eurasia, as well as mining freight movement of raw material resources from Mongolia to China. The transit capabilities of the railway and road infrastructure are assessed, the features of cargo flow through border checkpoints are studied. Consistent implementation of Mongolia’s ambitious plans of railway construction changes the cross-border infrastructure, especially on the China’s border. It is noted that the construction of railways was forced by the Mongolian government with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic: severe restrictions and border control measures on truck transport significantly affected the operating of border crossings and foreign economic relations of Mongolia as a whole. In order to expand the export of mineral raw materials, it is planned to open four railway border crossings on the Mongolian-Chinese border: Gashuunsukhait - Gantsmod, Shiveekhuren - Sehe, Bichigt - Zun-Khatavch, Khangi - Mandal. Establishing the effective functioning of the cross-border transport and logistics infrastructure is becoming a strategic priority of the Mongolian economic policy. For Russia, there is a need to develop foreign trade infrastructure in the border regions, especially in the new geopolitical realities.