中國對蒙古銅、煤加征跨境運輸費

A remote Chinese border town in the Gobi desert has slapped transport surcharges on copper shipments from Rio Tinto’s Mongolian Oyu Tolgoi mine, an attempt to pay off the town’s debts that comes on the heels of a bilateral row over the Dalai Lama.

中國在戈壁沙漠的一座偏遠邊境城鎮(zhèn)對力拓(Rio Tinto)蒙古奧尤陶勒蓋(Oyu Tolgoi)礦運輸的銅礦加征運輸費，試圖借此償還債務。不久前兩國剛因達賴喇嘛(Dalai Lama)訪問蒙古發(fā)生爭執(zhí)。

China vociferously protested against a visit to Mongolia last week by the Tibetan spiritual leader,. China cancelled a diplomatic meeting after the visit.

中國對西藏精神領袖達賴喇嘛上周訪問蒙古提出抗議，并在其訪問后取消了一場外交會議。

But while Mongolians worry about earthly retribution, the Chinese territory of Inner Mongolia is worried about debt. Gobi desert towns, like other local governments in China, are struggling with the legacy of massive infrastructure spending since 2008.

但就像蒙古人擔心可能的報復，中國境內的內蒙古也在擔心債務問題。戈壁沙漠的部分城鎮(zhèn)與中國其他地方政府一樣，正努力應對2008年大量基礎設施支出留下的問題。

Transport charges on copper and coal introduced on Thursday at several border crossings in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia are “mainly for the repayment of principal and interest of bank loans taken out for port infrastructure construction as well as port facilities maintenance, management and other normal operating costs”, according to a provincial document published early last month, well before the Dalai Lama’s trip.

周四，內蒙古中國邊境上的幾個口岸對銅和煤的運輸收取費用，據內蒙古上月公布的一份文件顯示(早在達賴喇嘛訪問之前)，該費用將主要用于償還口岸基礎設施建設以及口岸設施維修、管理和其他正常運營費用所背負的銀行貸款本息。

The increase in fees on copper concentrate crossing the border specifically benefits Urad Middle Banner, the township home to the Gants Mod crossing, the only post to handle copper from Oyu Tolgoi, the world’s largest copper deposit.

對銅精礦加征跨境運輸費尤其有利于烏特拉中旗，這里是內蒙古Gants Mod邊境口岸所在鎮(zhèn)，是處理全球最大銅礦奧尤陶勒蓋礦產的唯一口岸。

The document authorises a surcharge of 0.2 per cent of the value of copper concentrate shipments. At current prices the charge works out to about Rmb78 ($11.3) per tonne, or Rmb3,800 per truckload. That would work out to about $18.7m per year.

上述文件批準對銅精礦運輸加征0.2%附加費。按照現行價格，每噸收費約為78元人民幣(合11.3美元)，即每輛卡車3800元人民幣，每年將達到1870萬美元。

The Mongolian government estimates the additional charges on coal will cost it 30bn tugriks ($12.2m) per year, an unwelcome extra burden as the country tightens its budget ahead of an estimated $1.8bn in debt payments due in the next two years. About half the country’s coal exports pass through Gants Mod.

蒙古政府估計煤炭的這一額外費用每年將產生300億圖格里克(合1220萬美元)成本，這是一個難以接受的額外負擔，因為蒙古正收緊預算，未來兩年該國預計應付18億美元債務。蒙古的煤出口約半數要通過Gants Mod邊境。