Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Mongolia Shen Minjuan

In the blossoming days of spring, China held the the Central Conference on Work Related to Neighboring Countries. President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to focus on building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries, and striving to break new ground in neighborhood work, which sent a strong signal that China will, as always, stay rooted in and contribute to its neighboring regions. Shortly after the Conference, President Xi began the state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, which underscores China’s unwavering commitment, led by the head-of-state diplomacy, to join hands with neighboring countries for a better tomorrow.

Neighborhood serves as a vital foundation for China to achieve development and prosperity, a key front to safeguard national security, a priority area to manage overall diplomacy, and a crucial link to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping, China always upholds the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the policy to treat our neighbors as friends and partners, staying committed to providing opportunities, stability and certainty to neighboring countries with its own development.

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s proposal to build a community with a shared future for Asia. China has reached consensus on building a community with a shared future with 17 neighboring countries and signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with 25 of them. China is also the largest trading partner of 18 countries in the region. ASEAN, the organization of medium-and-small-sized developing countries in our neighboring region, has been the largest trade partner of China for five consecutive years, and vice versa. The neighboring region is also where China’s three Global Initiatives are piloted, and where China’s solutions and concepts are widely recognized.

This year also marks the “China Year” of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the 70th anniversary of the Aisan-African Conference in Bandung. The SCO, China-ASEAN cooperation and China-Central Asia Mechanism,  established together by China and its neighboring countries, have become important platforms for the Global South to forge synergy and solidarity. This year’s SCO summit, to be hosted by China in Tianjin in autumn, will help the SCO embark on a new journey from China and make the organization a more close-knit community with a shared future.

Since I arrived in Mongolia, many Mongolian friends have mentioned President Xi Jinping’s 2014 visit when he invited Mongolia to ride on the “express train” of China’s development, and his idea that “a single flower does not make spring, but a hundred flowers in full bloom bring spring to the garden”. During COVID, China and Mongolia wrote a touching chapter of mutual support with the story of “the gifts of sheep and tea”. In the post-pandemic era, we achieved double-digit growth in bilateral trade and China’s contribution to Mongolia’s economic growth hits 60%. All these demonstrate that China has been invariably standing in solidarity with neighborhood through thick and thin.

While President Xi was visiting three ASEAN countries,  Losang Jamcan, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, visited Mongolia, another example of China’s consistent priority on neighboring countries. During the visit, many Mongolian MPs noted the recent Conference in China and recognized that, amid global turbulence, China’s efforts to deepen ties with its neighbors will inject positive energy and new momentum into regional peace, stability and development.

China’s relations with its neighboring countries are at their best in modern times, and are also entering a critical phase of deep linkage between the regional landscape and the world changes. President Xi pointed out that only when Asia thrives can the world do better. China will work with neighbors, including Mongolia, to honor the Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness, and inclusiveness, enhance the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and write new chapters in building a community with a shared future, jointly opposing the notion that “might makes right” and upholding international fairness and justice.

I am convinced the 21st century will be the Asian century, and the future of the human society will be only brighter.