Many would be desperate to bid goodbye to 2020 as the year of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the resulting global economic downturn, and the global problems created by the growing trade protectionist and unilateralist policies.

Yet for China and Mongolia, 2020 has been a year of friendly exchanges, deepening cooperation and heartening stories. One such story is Mongolia donating 30,000 sheep to China in 14 batches－an example of friendship and mutual help during the pandemic.

During his visit to Beijing in February when China was battling the worst stage of the pandemic, Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga reaffirmed support for China as a comprehensive strategic partner and said his country would gift 30,000 sheep to help the Chinese people fight the epidemic.

With the pandemic still raging in many parts of the world, it is time to focus on what China and Mongolia can do to overcome the multiple challenges posed by the pandemic and the global downturn.

As for deepening Sino-Mongolian relations, China dispatched testing kits and other medical equipment to Mongolia to help the authorities there to cut the virus's transmissions chains, and maintain a high level of alert.

The mutual lessons China and Mongolia have learned over the past months have helped them to better plan their moves to prevent more outbreaks. Mongolia has been trying to contain the epidemic essentially by quarantining people infected with the virus. The country has imposed a nationwide lockdown till Dec 1 to halt the virus's spread and to identify all the people who had contact with locally transmitted COVID-19 patients. And if there is a drastic increase in the number of infections, the Mongolian authorities can ask the people to start joint control and prevention programs against the pandemic.

After all, China succeeded in containing the virus partly because it mobilized local residents and volunteers to ensure the anti-pandemic measures were properly implemented and followed at the community level.

And since the pandemic has also caused a global economic recession, China and Mongolia need to find new ways to boost bilateral trade. In fact, the two countries have devised ways to expand bilateral trade, for example, by opening "green freight channels" but closing the passenger channels. The "green freight channels" have made major contributions to bilateral trade－for one, they have made Mongolia China's largest coal supplier. The coal trade has benefited Mongolia－as the mineral industry is one of the pillars of Mongolia's economy－and helped China to meet its demand for coal.

During State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Mongolia on Sept 15-16, China and Mongolia agreed to deepen cooperation in different fields, and expedite the alignment of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Mongolia's Development Road development initiative. The construction of sewage treatment plants and hydropower stations, and the project to transform shantytowns into safe, hygienic living spaces will continue in Mongolia. Also, China will increase the import of coal and agricultural products, including meat and dairy products, from Mongolia, which will further deepen cooperation between the two sides, especially between cross-border economic zones.

Besides, based on broad agreements, China and Mongolia should boost cooperation on key projects while upholding multilateralism and enhancing mutual trust, because despite economic globalization facing severe challenges, it is the only way different economies in the world and the global economy as a whole can recover from the impact of the pandemic and flourish in the future.

China and Mongolia have helped each other during the worst global public health crisis in a century. But the two countries should also further strengthen mutual security and development because the pandemic is yet to be contained at the global level.

Which brings us back to Mongolia's gift of 30,000 sheep. For the Mongolian people, the 30,000 sheep reflect their friendship with the Chinese people because they consider sheep as the best gifts for friends and family.

During his visit to China in February, Battulga quoted a Mongolian proverb, "a needle in need is of greater use than a camel in prosperity", which means adversity reveals the true quality of friendship. In response, President Xi Jinping quoted an ancient Chinese proverb,"If you have received a drop of beneficence from other people, you should return to them a fountain of beneficence" credited to Confucius.

True to the words of the two countries' presidents and in the spirit of Sino-Mongolian friendship, the two sides have been consolidating their good neighborly relations, and will continue to do so in the future.