The statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are repeated at the end of this article
Just as the mainland welcomed the US delegation headed by Yellen, Mongolia also received a "distinguished guest" from the United States at the end of March, that is, the newly appointed "No. 2" person in the United States, Deputy Secretary of State Campbell.
The other side will choose Mongolia, which is sandwiched between the mainland and Russia, as the first country to visit, and the intention is probably obvious, not long after the other party left, Mongolia directly made a request to the mainland. [Listen to the song]
01 Mongolian request
The Mongolian side mainly said two points: one is that it hopes that the mainland can help the other side do a good job in infrastructure construction, and then it can export a large number of rare earths to the United States and South Korea and other countries; and second, it hopes to transit through the mainland and establish a shipping route with India, and it can also trade with India.
Not to mention whether we will consider such a request, it is quite confusing from a logical point of view, and it is not the same as saying: you have contributed to help me unite with your opponents.
First of all, as an important industrial raw material, rare earth is included in the military, electronics, new energy and other aspects, especially chips also need rare earths to manufacture, and the largest processing and export is China.
When the United States led a group of Western countries to launch a chip blockade to the mainland, the mainland naturally took countermeasures, among which restricting the export of rare earths is a very important means.
This still poses a big problem for the United States, and looking at whether other countries are so rich in rare earth resources, it is precisely the humble Mongolia that has the world's second largest reserves.
Because it is sandwiched between China and Russia, its presence is indeed not high, and its development is not particularly good, so Mongolia has always hoped to improve its economy by conducting foreign trade and exporting its own minerals.
Therefore, after the United States came to the door, they immediately chose to cooperate with each other, due to the unbalanced development of Mongolia, although the rare earth resources are very rich, but there are not enough talents and processing technology, and the United States can make up for this aspect.
The two sides also pulled a South Korea and set up a "trilateral consultation mechanism for critical minerals", which can allow the three parties to jointly make up for their own shortcomings, which can be regarded as a win-win situation, but the question is how do they export?
Mongolia's geography dictates that if they want to trade with the outside world, they must pass through the mainland and Russia, but anyone with a discerning eye knows that the two sides are at odds now, and they have stated that they want to restrict the export of rare earths.
At this time, they stood up and said that let the mainland open up its borders, and help them build infrastructure to export with the United States and South Korea, and help them solve their problems.
02 Mongolian decision-making
This time, Campbell of the United States set his first visit to Mongolia, in fact, it has already explained a lot of problems, not only rare earths, but to draw the other side to his side, straight into the hinterland of the mainland and Russia.
This is also part of the "Indo-Pacific strategy" that they have been mentioning, which was proposed by the Trump era to contain China's development through political manipulation in East Asia, South Asia, the Western Pacific, the Indian Ocean and other regions.
In addition to the negotiation and cooperation between the two sides on the export of mineral resources, the U.S.-Mongolia engagement also mentions the opening of direct flights, which is the "open skies" agreement signed by the two sides last year.
In addition to cooperating with the United States and other Western countries, Mongolia has also begun to make constant contacts with India, and some time ago, Mongolia's Minister of Transport met with the Indian ambassador.
The meeting was also to study how to establish air routes and direct railways, and wanted to export its rare earths, minerals and other resources to India, and then allow the mainland to open up the border, so that the two could be directly linked.
In fact, it can also be seen here that Mongolia has its own ambitions, that is, it hopes to make full use of its own resources, and then connect to the world, export minerals, rare earths, etc. in large quantities, and enter the world market.
However, Mongolia's foreign roads basically have to pass through the mainland, otherwise they have to make a detour from Russia, but in recent years, they have begun to swing back and forth, and even some of the proposals are obviously harmful to our interests.
It can only be said that the mainland is willing to help, on the basis of win-win cooperation and mutual benefit, and it is a sentiment to help the other side, but it does not mean that it will unconditionally agree to all demands.
03 Current situation in Mongolia
As a relatively remote country, Mongolia's overall development level is not particularly good, and it is sandwiched between China and Russia.
In terms of diplomacy, the most impressive thing is probably the previous aid to the mainland of 30,000 sheep during the new crown period, which makes people feel that although the other party is poor, they are still willing to get along with the mainland.
In fact, Mongolia is still relatively rich in resources, with a large number of rare earths and minerals, but for them, they have so many things in their hands, but they do not have the strength to develop.
First of all, the internal infrastructure is too poor, there are only 2 railways in China, and they are connected to the Sino-Mongolian border and the Russian-Mongolian border, and most of the roads are built in the former Soviet Union.
The internal transportation network does not cover all resource areas, and there are no advantages in terms of exports, such as the "open skies" proposed by the United States, but Mongolia has only one Ulaanbaatar airport, and the surrounding infrastructure is not very good, let alone large-scale transportation.
Therefore, relying on the cost of transporting rare earths and other resources by air may be higher than they imagined, and the implementation of this plan will be very difficult.
In addition to transportation, Mongolia's natural environment has been noticeably worse in recent years, with a huge fire breaking out in April last year, covering an area of 200,000 hectares and killing a large number of livestock.
And that's not all, in our minds, Mongolia is generally a steppe, but now they are facing a very serious desertification, 76% of the country has "fallen".
However, if they cooperate with the United States and South Korea and other countries, they think that pollution will inevitably increase further, and in the short term, it may also cause a devastating blow to the animal husbandry industry, which is the pillar of animal husbandry.
The mainland has always been very concerned about Sino-Mongolian relations, and Mongolia has been willing to help our "sheep" before, and in the case of a serious snowstorm in Mongolia this year, the mainland has also actively provided a lot of supplies to help them tide over the difficulties.
At the same time, for Mongolia's desertification and other issues, our side also directly intervened, and even directly proposed to help the other side build a demonstration area for planting trees and preventing desertification, and this cooperation officially stems from the friendship between the two sides as close neighbors.
In the eyes of Mongolia's so-called "third neighbor", that is, many European and American countries, I am afraid that there is no such emotion, and more of a benefit that can be used, and there is no support in the past when it is affected.
The mainland does not object to Mongolia engaging with other countries in the world, actively developing its own economy, and building its own country better, but the problem is that it is far away from its neighbors and vacillating, and for them, as a small country, I am afraid that it will only make the situation worse.
Therefore, I still hope that Mongolia will think carefully about whether it should choose to establish good relations and increase cooperation with China and Russia, which are close neighbors of each other, in such a geographical location, or whether it should choose another side because of small favors and small favors.
Sources of information:
[1] Global Times - What does Campbell's new career debut in Mongolia mean?
[2] Fujian Daily - Chinese aid arrives in Mongolia!