Chinese ambassador hands over relief materials to herders in central Mongolia hit by harsh winter

ERDENE, Mongolia, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Shen Minjuan and Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg on Monday visited the central Mongolian province of Tuv to hand over relief materials provided by China to 500 herdsmen affected by the extreme wintry weather.

This winter, Mongolia has been hit by a severe "dzud," a Mongolian term to describe a severely cold winter when many livestock die because the ground is frozen or covered in snow.

They handed over the relief materials including warm clothes, family packages, food and other necessities to herder families in Erdene soum (administrative subdivision) of the province.

"As an important neighbor of Mongolia, China has paid close attention to the dzud situation from the beginning and took the lead in extending a helping hand to Mongolia," said Shen. "This is not only what we should do as neighbors, but also once again reflects the deep friendship between the two countries that share weal and woe."

Battsetseg, who is also president of the Mongolian Red Cross Society, expressed her thanks to China. "Our country has been suffering from the dzud that is more severe than in previous years, and many herder families across the country have been severely affected," she said.

"During this difficult period, China's central and local governments, the Red Cross Society, and the Chinese Embassy and Chinese-funded enterprises in Mongolia have promptly extended a helping hand to Mongolia," Battsetseg said.

More than 4 million head of livestock have died so far this winter due to the dzud, according to the country's State Emergency Commission. The promotion of livestock husbandry is seen as the most viable way to diversify the landlocked country's mining-dependent economy.

At the end of 2023, the number of livestock in Mongolia stood at 64.7 million, according to the National Statistics Office.