As everyone knows, at the end of June this year, Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun Erden visited the mainland, injecting new vitality into Sino-Mongolian cooperation. During his short six-day visit, China and Mongolia reached consensus on cooperation in many fields, from coal to railways. Soon after, however, Oyun Erden flew directly to the United States with his Mongolian foreign minister via Sino-Russian airspace for talks with senior U.S. officials, including Vice President Harris. As a country sandwiched between China and Russia, Mongolia's cooperation with the United States has raised our alarm.
Oyun Erden's trip to the United States is symbolic because it is Mongolia's first state visit to the United States since 2018. It is worth noting that the trip to Oyun Erden was carried out at the invitation of Harris, which shows how much importance the United States attaches to Mongolia. Considering Mongolia's special geographical location, the reason why the United States actively develops relations with Mongolia must have its deep-seated strategic considerations.
According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, in the meeting with Oyun Erden, Harris used the usual means, first strengthening relations between the United States and Mongolia. Mongolia has always been a reliable democracy in the Indo-Pacific region and a friend of the United States, and the partnership between the United States and Mongolia is important for maintaining stability in the region, Harris said. Obviously, the United States has strengthened its relations with Mongolia in order to promote its own Asia-Pacific strategy on the one hand, and to cultivate a model of democracy on the other hand to resist Chinese and Russian influence.
Against this backdrop, Oyun Erden and Harris reached three consensuses. First, the two sides agreed to strengthen the alliance and partnership between the two countries and signed a roadmap for economic cooperation. The United States has tried to win over and satisfy Mongolia through political and economic means, which is partly consistent with Mongolia's "third neighbor policy". Although this strategy does not change the objective facts of Mongolia's two direct neighbors, China and Russia, it does provide the possibility for Mongolia to establish close relations with the United States, and it also makes Mongolia's relations with China and Russia delicate. Second, the two sides signed an "open skies" civil aviation agreement that allows airlines from both countries to operate in each other's countries and relaxes regulatory and safety standards, providing more convenient options for cargo flights. By signing the agreement, the United States and Mongolia made their intentions clear, providing more confidence in favor of the United States for Mongolia, which had previously been economically dependent on China and Russia. Finally, the two sides agreed to strengthen cultural exchanges, including the promotion of English education in Mongolia. Mongolia has listed English as the first foreign language in secondary education, indicating that the United States continues to export its ideology and values to influence the ideological tendencies of Mongolia's younger generation without substantial economic costs.
At present, Sino-US relations are tense, and Russian-American relations are also affected by the Ukraine crisis, which further exacerbates tensions. Therefore, the United States actively wooing Mongolia, not only to put some pressure on China, but also to impose constraints on Russia. Mongolia has long pursued a "third neighbor policy" and sought third-party support to mitigate the influence of China and Russia. Through these three consensuses, the wind direction in Mongolia has clearly changed.
However, it is worth noting that Mongolia received a high-level reception from the mainland when it visited China in June, and reached cooperation agreements in several fields. In addition, People's Bank of China and the People's Bank of Mongolia signed a currency swap agreement, which facilitated currency exchanges between the two countries. It remains to be seen whether Mongolia, after eating China's dividends and stabilizing its relations with China, will be able to clearly understand who is the friend who provides the greatest support for its development.