2014 important for China-Mongolia ties(2)

NEW PROSPECTS OF BILATERAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

Diplomats and observers have said that the current development of China-Mongolia relations is blessed with opportune timing, favorable conditions and popular support.

By "opportune timing," they mean that this year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Mongolia and the 20th anniversary of the amendment to the Treaty on Friendly Relations and Cooperation between China and Mongolia.

"Favorable conditions" means that the two sides are highly complementary in economic development, and are natural cooperative partners which could achieve mutual benefits, common development and prosperity.

"Popular support" means that the two countries have maintained a good-neighborly friendship. China has always placed developing relations with Mongolia in an important position in its neighborhood diplomacy, and Mongolia also regards developing relations with China as a priority of its foreign policies.

Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Wang Xiaolong said he hopes that both sides can take advantage of the favorable conditions and firmly seize the valuable opportunity for the development of the China-Mongolia relations, so as to jointly open up the new prospects of the China-Mongolia strategic partnership.

China has been Mongolia's largest trading partner and a major investor for more than a decade.

Two-way trade between China and Mongolia stood at only 324 million U.S. Dollars in 2002, but the figure had climbed to nearly 6 billion dollars in 2013, accounting for more than half of Mongolia's total foreign trade.

"Mongolia is a landlocked country with sparse population, vast territory and abundant resources, while China is the world's second largest economy and is in the process of industrialization and urbanization," said the ambassador.

The two countries are highly complementary in economic structure and enjoy a huge potential for economic and trade cooperation," he added.

In people-to-people and cultural exchanges, China and Mongolia have been engaged in deep cooperation in education, culture and sports.

Every year there are some 8,000 Mongolian students studying in China. Beijing has dispatched more than 180 volunteers to Mongolia to teach the Chinese language, which draw an increasing number of local youth.

"The more the exchanges, the deeper the mutual understanding, and the friendlier the feelings between the two peoples," Wang said. "There are a growing number of people who value relations with China. That has become a mainstream opinion in Mongolia."

"China and Mongolia will continue to expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges in both scale and scope," he added.