Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh is visiting China on Monday following an invitation from Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang. This is her third visit to China since last year. One expert says the frequent high-level visits reflect the mutual trust between the two countries. Huang Yue has more.
The main goal of the Mongolian foreign minister's visit this time around is to make sure the outcomes agreed last November by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh are implemented.
That's according to one Chinese expert, who specializes in China-Mongolia ties.
At last year's meeting, the two heads of state oversaw the signing of 16 documents on bilateral cooperation, covering trade, investment and other key areas.
And there are now other important issues the two neighboring countries will discuss.
BAO SHENGLI Director, Mongolian Research Center, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences "China and Mongolia share 4,700 kilometers of border, so sometimes we face common challenges. For example, China has recently helped Mongolia put out the steppe fires at the two countries' borders. And China has promised to support Mongolia's campaign of planting one billion trees to mitigate desertification."
Bao says economic and trade cooperation is a central pillar of China-Mongolia relations.
BAO SHENGLI Director, Mongolian Research Center, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences "In 1994, the trade volume between China and Mongolia was 120 million US dollars. And in 2022, bilateral trade volume increased over 100 times, reaching 13 billion US dollars. China has been Mongolia's largest source of investment and a trading partner for nearly 20 years."
HUANG YUE Beijing "Some say Mongolia is threatened by its only two neighbors – China and Russia. But the expert argues China always wants to share development opportunities instead of pursuing a life-or-death struggle. And in the future, more cooperation outcomes can be expected as large scale projects are already under construction, including a pipeline transit, railways and ports. Huang Yue, CGTN, Beijing."