Xi calls on China, Mongolia to enrich strategic partnership

China-Europe freight train X9202 loaded with cars, accessories, food and clothes bound for Ulan Bator of Mongolia prepares to leave a railway station in north China's Tianjin Municipality, May 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called on China and Mongolia to enrich their comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.

Under the current circumstances, the two countries share more and more common interests, Xi said in a phone conversation with his Mongolian counterpart, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh.

Xi stressed that China and Mongolia are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, and the development of bilateral relations maintains a sound momentum.

After the onset of COVID-19, he noted, the two countries joined hands in fighting the pandemic and deepened the friendship between their people, as demonstrated by such touching stories as China's Hubei province shipping local tea to Mongolia as gifts in appreciation of its earlier donation of sheep to China.

Staff members load the first batch of sheep donated from Mongolia onto a container truck in Erenhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Lei)

China is ready to continue providing support to the best of its capacity for Mongolia's fight against the pandemic, he added.

He suggested that the two countries respect each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect each other's development path independently chosen by their people, and accommodate and support each other's core interests and major concerns.

Xi added the two sides should leverage their geographical proximity to better synergize the Belt and Road Initiative and the Steppe Road program, and to strengthen cooperation in such areas as minerals, energy, infrastructure and ecology.

The Chinese side, he said, is ready to import more mineral and agricultural products from Mongolia.

Photo taken on Feb. 23, 2021 shows a plane carrying COVID-19 vaccines donated by China at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. (Xinhua/Asigang)

China is also willing to work with Mongolia to strengthen coordination and cooperation, uphold true multilateralism, and promote the building of a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, Xi added.

For his part, Khurelsukh extended warm congratulations on the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), saying that the CPC has led the Chinese people to make many remarkable achievements in the past 100 years.

In particular, under Xi's strong leadership, China has won the battle against poverty and built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, he said, expressing his confidence that China will achieve new successes on its new journey to achieve the second centenary goal.

Noting that the Mongolia-China comprehensive strategic partnership has maintained a sound momentum despite the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that a friend in need is a friend indeed, and the Mongolian side sincerely thanks China for the precious assistance it provided to Mongolia at a difficult time.

Photo taken on March 28, 2020 shows protective medical supplies donated by China in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. (Photo by Garid/Xinhua)

The development of China has brought important opportunities to Mongolia, and made important contributions to world peace and development, he said.

Mongolia, he added, is ready to work with China to intensify exchanges, advance practical cooperation in various fields, actively promote Belt and Road cooperation, strengthen coordination and cooperation in multilateral affairs, and build a community with a shared future for mankind.