Mongolia is to supply coking coal to China. Mongolia’s Energy Resources signed a deal to sell 1.2 million tonnes of high-grade coking coal to China's biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group. China's State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said that the coking coal deal was the first such deal between the two sides and would "build good foundations for future cooperation in trade and other activities".

Along with Shenhua and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation, Energy Resources is part of a consortium expected to take over operations at the massive Tavan Tolgoi coking coal mine, close to Mongolia's southern border with China. The Mongolian government agreed to hand over the construction and operation of Tavan Tolgoi to the consortium earlier this year, but the deal still needs to be ratified by parliament.