CHINA

Mongolia Gets Use of Port: China has agreed to allow its long-estranged neighbor, Mongolia, to use the port of Tianjin as a trade link to the outside world. The two sides signed an agreement last week that will also permit the transport of goods through China to the port, the official People’s Daily said. Tianjin is 869 miles southeast of landlocked Mongolia’s capital, Ulan Bator. Mongolia, the size of Western Europe with a population of 3 million, lies between China and the Soviet Union. Diplomats said the agreement was crucial to Mongolia’s economy, in tatters after its long-time Communist patron, Moscow, withdrew supplies of gasoline late last year. Until now, nearly all of Mongolia’s trade has been with the Soviet Union. Last year, it began opening to the outside world, viewing trade with China and the West as its best hope for developing its economy.