Mongolian
On September 7, 2024, Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai held official talks with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng at the State Palace.
During the meeting, both sides emphasized the successful development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Mongolia and China. They discussed the importance of maintaining frequent high-level exchanges, aligning their national development policies, and closely cooperating to implement previously agreed-upon initiatives.
Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene underscored that long-term, sustainable development of good neighborly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with China is a top priority in Mongolia’s foreign policy. He expressed satisfaction with the expansion of the bilateral relations across all sectors.
The Prime Minister highlighted the significance of enhancing cooperation within the framework of Mongolia’s economic, regional, and human development policy, as outlined in the Government’s action plan. He particularly stressed the need to connect border ports by rail and to increase the capacity of the ports. Additionally, he called for establishing a legal framework to facilitate the cross-border trade of agricultural products, oil, explosives, and hazardous chemicals. The Prime Minister also expressed an interest in deepening cooperation in renewable energy, industry, science, technology, and humanitarian fields.
In 2022, the heads of state of Mongolia and China set a goal of increasing bilateral trade to 20 billion USD. As of last year, trade volume had reached 17.6 billion USD, a testament to the active cooperation between the two nations.
Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene emphasized that connecting the Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod port by rail is a strategic issue of mutual benefit. He also urged China to collaborate on other key railway projects, including Shiweekhuren-Sekhee, Choibalsan-Bichigt, Bichigt-Zuunkhatavch, and Khangi-Mandal.
The Prime Minister further proposed working together on infrastructure projects, including the construction of a subway and a ring road in Ulaanbaatar. He expressed an intention to strengthen cooperation in Mongolia’s renewable energy sector and proposed finalizing a loan agreement for the Erdeneburen hydroelectric plant in the near future.
Both sides also affirmed their commitment to accelerating the development of the Economic Corridor between Mongolia, China, and Russia, agreeing to move forward without delays. The Prime Minister proposed the establishment of a water port at Buir Lake to promote cross-border water tourism. He noted that Mongolia is planning to construct an airport near Buir Lake, a project that could play a pivotal role in supporting the ‘Tea Road’ program, aimed at fostering cross-border tourism between Mongolia, China, and Russia.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng expressed his pleasure at visiting Mongolia at the invitation of the Mongolian government and conveyed greetings from Premier Li Qiang of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. He acknowledged that Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene’s official visit to China last year had significantly advanced practical cooperation between the two countries.
Vice President Han Zheng reiterated China’s readiness to work closely with Mongolia in strengthening political mutual trust, advancing practical cooperation, and enhancing people-to-people exchanges. He also underscored the importance of intensifying the infrastructure and energy projects proposed by Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene.
