Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Russia and Mongolia to deepen their energy and financial bonds with his country while fending off “external interference” during their first trilateral summit in three years.
Beijing, Moscow and Ulaanbaatar must further strengthen “solidarity” amid increasingly turbulent international dynamics, Xi told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa on Tuesday, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
“China is ready to work with Russia and Mongolia to strengthen political mutual trust … eliminate external interference and jointly promote high-quality development of trilateral cooperation,” Xi said during opening remarks at the three-way meeting in Beijing.
While China and Russia have enhanced their economic and security ties as both face growing geopolitical pressure from Western countries, Mongolia – historically a de facto buffer zone between the two nuclear giants during the Cold War – has seemingly placed greater emphasis on its “third neighbour” foreign policy.
By that approach, the landlocked Asian country has worked to develop partnerships with the United States, Japan, South Korea and the European Union to diversify its diplomacy, trade and security relations beyond Beijing and Moscow.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (centre) hosts his Russian and Mongolian counterparts during a trilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua
As the strategic rivalry between Beijing and Washington has continued to intensify over trade and technology, with rare earths – critical to semiconductor and clean energy sectors – now a key bargaining chip, Mongolia’s vast mineral wealth has elevated the country’s strategic significance in the global political landscape.
