On October 16, 2024, Mongolia and the People’s Republic of China will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Sino-Mongol relations go back thousands of years, but contemporary bilateral relations between the two countries underscore the significance of how global events shape diplomatic ties. As they celebrate 75 years of partnership, Ulaanbaatar and Beijing look to deepen bilateral ties under the 2014 comprehensive strategic partnership and envision parallel economic growth.
In recognition of the 75th anniversary, the Mongolia-China Friendship Society, the Foreign Ministry of Mongolia and the Embassy of China to Mongolia co-organized a “75 Years of Friendship” photo exhibit at the Chinggis Khaan Museum in Ulaanbaatar. The photo exhibit demonstrated the constant diplomacy between Mongolia and China throughout different historical turning points. The exhibit highlighted primary documents, such as handwritten letters that testify the beginning of China-Mongolia diplomatic relations on October 16, 1949.
In remarks at an anniversary event at the Chinese embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai highlighted the traditional partnership between Mongolia and China and celebrated China’s rapid growth and economic development as an opportunity for collaboration. Oyun-Erdene also touched on the importance of the “mutual trust and friendly relations between the two countries,” saying that China and Mongolia “should not repeat the current events of international geopolitics.”
China’s Ambassador to Mongolia Shen Minjuan told The Diplomat, “China’s development presents new opportunities for Mongolia. Guided by the shared vision of building a China-Mongolia community with a shared future set by the two heads of state, the two countries need to enhance political mutual trust, align development strategies, deepen industrial cooperation, and improve infrastructure and border connectivity, so as to make cooperation more diversified and trade larger and more comprehensive.”
Mongolia and China established diplomatic relations during a tumultuous time in world history. In East Asia and beyond, countries were still recovering from World War II, and soon to be overshadowed by another prolonged conflict – the Cold War. Facing major geopolitical challenges, Mongolia’s foreign and diplomatic affairs required vigilance. As one of Mongolia’s eternal neighbors, the establishment of diplomatic relations with China played an important role for Ulaanbaatar to balance, preserve, and strengthen its independence and sovereignty.
Mongolia and China established diplomatic relations on October 16, 1949. Just two weeks before, on October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong – China’s communist leader at the time – had declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), ending a long civil war with the Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-shek.
October 1949 was a historical turning point for both Mongolia and China. The decision to diplomatically recognize the newly established PRC marked a watershed in Mongolia’s history. What followed would be decades of diplomatic triumphs that resolved territorial and border issues, expanded economic ties, as well as created a roadmap on how the two countries would balance each other’s interests in the realm of international relations.
In 1950, just a year after establishing diplomatic relations, Ulaanbaatar and Beijing opened embassies in each other’s countries. In stabilizing and securing China-Mongolia bilateral relations, Tsedenbal Yumjaa, who held power in Mongolia during most of its socialist era, played a key role. Tsedenbal visited China three times, in 1952, 1959, and 1962. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai paid state visits to Mongolia in 1954 and 1960.
During Zhou’s visit to Mongolia in 1960, the two countries signed a Friendship and Mutual Assistance Agreement to provide mutual economic assistance and strengthen cooperation in the field of science and technology.
Following Tsedenbal’s state visit to Beijing in 1962, Mongolia and China signed the Border Treaty, which settled the 4,709-kilometer border. In the view of the Tsedenbal administration at the time, territorial integrity was directly tied to Mongolia’s independence and sovereignty.
Facing Cold War challenges, especially the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s, China-Mongolia bilateral activities slowed down. During this time, Tsedenbal was responsible for the mass deportation of Chinese immigrants from Mongolia. The relationship would began to revive following Mongolia’s democratization in the late 1980s.
Between 1989 and 1990, relations between the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) were normalized and redirected toward strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in economic matters.
Geography has dictated most of Ulaanbaatar-Beijing’s economic policy decision-making. After Mongolia’s democratic revolution in 1991, Ulaanbaatar’s foreign policy envisaged upgrading relations with global partners, and having a stable economic relations with China was a big part of this ambition. Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms and China’s open-door policy created opportunities for China-Mongolia trade, economic activities, and businesses to boom. To Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s newly established laissez-faire economic policy would first need major financial support from donors to overcome the economic turbulence caused by the sudden transition to a market economy.
The 1994 Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation played a foundational role in establishing strong bilateral ties between Ulaanbaatar and Beijing. The treaty provides a guiding principle for future China-Mongolia partnership based on “good neighborly relations and cooperation.”
Since establishing official diplomatic relations, presidential visits between Ulaanbaatar and Beijing consolidated the partnerships, and frequently served as a guiding mechanism for the two countries’ relations, despite changes in government administrations.
In 1998, during Mongolian President Bagabandi Natsag’s state visit to Beijing, Mongolia and China declared the 21st century a significant era for partnership and cooperation. Bagabandi’s visit was followed by state visits to Mongolia by two Chinese presidents, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao in 1999 and 2003 respectively, each strengthening bilateral ties.
During a high-level talk between Hu and Mongolian President Enkhbayar Nambar in 2003, the Chinese leader reiterated China’s support for Mongolia’s active role in international affairs, including its observer status of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and involvement in regional affairs of Northeast Asia. Beijing’s support for Mongolia’s international diplomacy is crucial to the diplomatic relations of Mongolia and China.
From the mid-2000s to the present, Mongolia and China’s bilateral relations have continued to grow, especially in trade, education, and improving business environment. Beijing is also a major financier of Mongolia’s development projects via concessional loan agreements and soft loans.
When Elbegdorj Tsakhia took office in 2009, Mongolia’s foreign policy had already begun some engagements on matters of international diplomacy and multilateral frameworks. But it was during Elbegdorj’s administration – he would serve two consecutive terms, leaving office in 2017 – that Mongolia’s National Security Concept (2010) and Foreign Policy Concept (2011) was upgraded. This laid the framework for Mongolia’s foreign policy approach moving forward.
In 2013, when Xi Jinping became China’s president, his policies toward Mongolia did not derail from his predecessors’ but included economic agendas of his own – particularly expanding economic relations via the Belt and Road Initiative.
In 2014, Xi Jinping made a historic state visit to Mongolia. During Xi’s trip, Ulaanbaatar and Beijing opened another new chapter by upgrading their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of that upgrade.
The comprehensive strategic partnership between Mongolia and China is a product of the long successful implementation of the 1994 Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation. It is paramount that both countries’ leaders adhere to the basic principle Mongolia and China co-exist as neighbors in a constantly changing geopolitical environment.
In his speech to the Mongolian parliament in 2014, Xi stated, “Both sides sincerely respect each other’s choice of political system and development path in accordance with their own national conditions…” Xi’s remarks highlighted Mongolia and China’s two different political systems but also alluded to the idea that economic partnership and a wide range of cooperation is possible without interfering in each other’s domestic matters. The 2014 comprehensive strategic partnership, hence, expanded Mongolia and China’s economic cooperation within and beyond the scope of Belt and Road Initiative.
“The past decade has been a period of the Belt and Road cooperation between China and Mongolia and rapid growth in bilateral relations,” Shen, China’s ambassador to Mongolia, highlighted. “The trade between the two countries jumped from $6 billion in 2013 to nearly $17 billion last year.”
Since Xi Jinping became president in 2013, Mongolia had three presidential elections. Despite the changes in leadership, China-Mongolia relations have grown consistently while adhering to the principles of their traditional partnership.
During Battulga Khaltmaa’s administration from 2017 to 2021, the China-Mongolia comprehensive strategic partnership continued to expand via trade protocols, road and infrastructure agreements, and restructuring and development of the ger district.
Moreover, the comprehensive strategic partnership also provided opportunities for Chinese businesses to boom in Mongolia. According to the Foreign Ministry of Mongolia, as of 2019, there were 7,543 Chinese businesses registered and operating in Mongolia. The obvious challenge for Mongolian businesses is competing with Chinese businesses in China while also increasing exports to third countries.
The dangers of overdependence on a single market became apparent in 2020, when Mongolia’s coal exports to China were cut in half due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to avoid further impact, Battulga became the second president (following Cambodia’s Hun Sen) to make a state visit to Beijing amid the pandemic. Battulga also donated 30,000 sheep as “a manifestation of goodwill to the people of China” during the “difficult time” of the initial COVID-19 outbreak.
Although the visit was highly criticized, the economic logic was clear. Throughout the pandemic, Mongolia’s exports suffered from shipping delays at Chinese ports and outright closures of border crossing points due to China’s pandemic policies.
Mongolia’s post-COVID economic recovery also has direct ties to Mongolia’s export to China. In December 2022, when China finally lifted its harsh COVID-19 restrictions, Mongolia’s coal exports nearly tripled month-to-month, going from 1,165 to 2,932 tons. The latest IMF report highlighted Mongolia’s commodity boom as main part of the country’s robust growth, which projected to remain positive through 2028. The report also underscored China as a major buyer of Mongolia’s high-grade cooper and coal.
Mongolia’s incumbent President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa will be the first president to serve for one six-year term. At a leadership level, Khurelsukh’s relationship with Xi aims to stabilize and expand the economic partnership with China, while diversifying cooperation with the rest of Mongolia’s global partners.
In 2023, during the Khurelsukh-Xi meeting on the sidelines of the Third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Xi noted Mongolia was one of the first few countries to support the BRI. As a result, China and Mongolia deeply coordinated their development strategies with clear progress in trade and investment. Xi also lent his support to Khurelsukh’s One Billion Tree national initiative to combat desertification.
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng visited Mongolia in September. To some, this may have come as a disappointment, given expectations that Xi himself would visit Mongolia to mark the dual anniversaries. It marks another missed opportunity for top-level diplomacy after Xi and Khurelsukh failed to meet at the SCO summit in Astana. The traditional trilateral China-Mongolia-Russia summit also did not occur this year, replaced instead by a foreign ministers’ meeting.
Still, according to the Press Office of the Mongolian President, Han’s meeting with Khurelsukh resulted in an agreement of bilateral trade investment of $20 million, particularly in improving infrastructure, and accelerating the implementation of projects and programs, also “furthering the cooperation of renewable energy, education, and tourism between the two countries.”
Mongolia’s diplomatic relations with China remains a significant pillar of Ulaanbaatar’s foreign policy. China will remain a leading economic partner to Mongolia and their relationship will continue to adhere to previous agreements and consensus. As the two countries celebrate 75 years of diplomatic ties, Mongolia and China are looking to foster parallel growth where both societies can benefit.
Binderiya Sereenen assisted with research. She holds an M.A. in Public Policy from American University.