Delegation of Federation of French-Chinese Associations Visits Inner Mongolia

Not far from the city of Dongsheng， under the glazed roof of his mausoleum in the form of yurt， regular ceremonies are held in memory of Genghis Khan amid butter lamps and ritual scarves and guarded by descendants of his generals. A few hours drive away， close to Erdos， there is the statue of the great man and his companions in the center of the spectacular futuristic architecture of the new ultramodern Kangbashi district.

It is one of many surprises awaiting visitors to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region where， in September 2011 a delegation of leaders from the Federation of French-Chinese Friendship Associations from 22 cities in France conducted a study tour at the invitation of the CPAFFC.

In the minds of the Europeans today， the name “Mongolia” refers mainly to the stories in their history books of the extraordinary empire conquered by Genghis Khan on horseback， in the 13th and 14th centuries stretching from the shores of the Amur River to the Danube in Europe. It also evokes images of the endless steppes at the heart of East Asia， a civilization of nomadic herdsmen profoundly original that has declined in the face of advancing sedentary agriculture.

Located at the border region of the Chinese empire， for which it traditionally provided cavalry， the Mongolians were organized in banners divided between aristocrats， Lamaist clergy， farmers and serfs. In the early 20th century， however， Inner Mongolia saw the development of agriculture at the expense of livestock farming.

Whether it is derived naturally from a rich and turbulent past， the realities of the 21st century are very different. This is the first feeling emerging from a short stay that deserves to be better known by Europeans. The local cooperation between France and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is still limited to the links between La Rochelle and Baotou， an important city of rare earth production， and between Aershan and Pompadour， the French capital of horse culture.

Today the Autonomous Region， with its land coverage ranked third in China， has 24 million inhabitants， including 4.2 million Mongolians and other ethnic groups. Among the major forest areas of the country， it holds a quarter of China’s pastures and abundant natural resources， including the most important reserves of coal and almost all of its rare earth. A turning point in recent history took place in early 1980 when the pastoral areas began to be protected and land reclamation forbidden， and while introducing crop industrialization， authorizing individuals to manage livestock farms， and returning agricultural land to pasture. The Mongolian language is taught from primary school， historical research of the Mongolian people is encouraged and many Lamaist monasteries have been restored.

Compared to other coastal and central provinces， its economic take-off is much more recent， as part of the strategy of “the great Western development”， with enormous benefits to its infrastructure. Though it appears to be only the 15th largest province in economic terms， it has been the first in annual GDP growth for 9 consecutive years.

However， thanks to its autonomous status， it has benefited most from the advanced technologies and proximity to the major domestic markets， such as Beijing， Tianjin， the Northeast， Gansu and Ningxia. This development is based on six pillars: the energy sector (solar and wind power， with a bright future)， pharmaceutical industry (the region produces half of all antibiotics produced in China)， machine building (Baotou Iron Steel Co. is the main industry of the region)， chemistry (coal derivatives， petrochemicals， and natural gas)， food (it is a key area that has livestock and dairy industry; it has the world’s third largest company in this regard， as well as some famous cashmere companies)， and， finally， information and high technologies， and rare earth.

A Visit to the Research Center of Rare Earth of Baotou for Better Understanding

China is the biggest supplier of rare earth meeting more than 90% of world’s demand. This gave it crucial leverage in the recent dispute against the WTO about rising prices and reducing export quotas of 17 metals essential for the manufacture of high technology products. The country is now trying hard to manage the resources better and avoid waste， support concentration of businesses， invest in the protection of environment degraded by exploitation， and combat illegal exploitation.

Mongolia and Russia， with which the region shares 4，200 km of borders， are the major trading partners. It also exports to Japan， the United States， South Kore ， and apart from these countries， has received investments from Hong Kong， Taiwan and Australia.

The rapid economic growth has also of course accompanied by， as elsewhere， social and environmental problems. The local government is focused on the fight against desertification， reforestation， conservation and restoration of soils and vegetation， including rotational grazing on pasture lands.

In addition to its forest coverage， the autonomous region has other natural trump cards: a variety of vast prairies， thousands of lakes and deserts， including the Budanjilin， the world’s fourth largest desert. The visit exposed us to an unfamiliar story combined with the remains of a more distant past sometimes as old as the fossil remains of dinosaurs， or closer， and helped us understand the relationship that the Mongolians have maintained with it， as in the case of the mausoleum of Genghis Khan， the great lamaseries of Dazhao and Wudangzhao in Hohhot， as well as the wealth of cultural traditions among these regional assets， including food， polyphonic Mongolian singing—an Intangible Heritage listed by the United Nations—and many others， let alone the warm friendliness and hospitality of its people.

The author is President of the Federation of French-Chinese Friendship Associations.