Press conference on regional cooperation in economic and trade investment fair, as part of the 3rd China-Mongoolia Expo is held in Ulaanqab, Inner Mongolia autonomus region. Local media said that more than 50 cooperative agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed during the trade fair. [Photo/WeChat account of Xinhua fusion media ]

The 3rd China-Mongolia Expo opened in Ulaanqab, a city in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Sept 6, focusing on economic and trade cooperation.

Scheduled to last for five days, the expo features four exhibition areas themed around trade negotiations, conferences and forums, exhibitions, and cultural exchanges. The expo is expected to attract 6,000 participants from 28 countries and regions, including diplomatic envoys to China, heads of large enterprises and business associations, investment promotion agencies, business people and industry experts.

At the opening ceremony of China-Mongolia Expo, Padma Choling, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said that China and Mongolia share a border stretching 4,710 km and the two countries have established a profound relationship for a long time.

China has been the largest trade partner of Mongolia for more than a decade, with the trade volume increasing in recent years and benefiting the livelihood and economy of both countries. Last year, the bilateral trade volume between the two sides reached $7.99 billion, jumping 24.7 percent year-on-year.

China is also Mongolia's second largest source of foreign investment. As of June 2019, Chinese investment in Mongolia totaled $4.85 billion, accounting for some 30 percent of Mongolia's total foreign investment.

According to Choling, the China-Mongolia Expo is a major platform to increase the connectivity and deepen cooperation for mutual development of China and Mongolia.

He stressed that China will continue to promote the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and Mongolia's “Development Road” strategy.

Mongolia and China have set a $10 billion target for bilateral trade by 2020, and it is said that the expo will play a major role in achieving the target.

The China-Mongolia Expo has been previously held in Inner Mongolia in 2015 and 2017. Nearly 4,000 Chinese and foreign companies participated in the two expos and generated 276 cooperative initiatives, memorandums, and contracts worth a total of 228.1 billion yuan ($32.3 billion).