Since Mongolia began its development as one of the great untapped storehouses of natural resources in Asia, it has worried that its prime market is its overbearing neighbour, China. Governments in Ulan Bator have resisted significant investments from or improvements in cross-border links with China. But in a change of attitude, Mongolia has approved a joint venture with China’s top coal producer, the Shenhua Group, to build a 13-kilometre railway line across the border from a Mongolian coal delivery terminal. But the Chinese company is allowed only a 49% share of the project.
