Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On March 31, 2021, Chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia, Mr. G.Zandanshatar, held an online meeting with the Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Mr. Li Zhanshu.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Chairman of the State Great Hural, Mr. G.Zandanshatar congratulated China on successfully holding the 13th National People's Congress of the People’s Republic of China, and the 4th Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and for making important decisions on China’s advancing of social and economic development. He also stressed that the development of good-neighborly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with China on the long run is one of the priorities of Mongolia's foreign policy.

The Chairman mentioned that “In recent years, Mongolian-Chinese relations and cooperation have been developing to a great extent in all field of areas, and have been significantly enriched as a result.” He continued that in order to expand cooperation between the legislatures of the two countries, he proposed that regular meetings and exchange of experiences between the State Great Hural of Mongolia and the NPC leadership, the Standing Committees, Parliamentary Friendship Groups, Secretariats of the two countries may be held with respect to the Regular Meeting Mechanisms of the two countries. He further stressed the significance of commencing the cooperation between the Research Units of the Secretariats of the two legislatures. The two sides are discussing through diplomatic channels, the possibility of a visit by the leaders of the two countries' legislatures this year. The Chairman expressed readiness for the visits at a mutually appropriate time, given the circumstances of the pandemic. 

He also mentioned of the Parliament’s support for the development of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments on the development of the initiatives of “Steppe Road” and “Belt and Road” and a special plan for the implementation of the Memorandum.

The Chairman noted, “I am pleased that China is providing close assistance to Mongolia in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and is working closely to ensure that the strength and scope of bilateral trade and economic cooperation does not diminish. In particular, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for providing vaccine grant aid, which is in great demand around the world, as well as for its commercial purchase. Authorities on both sides are preparing for the delivery of the first shipment of vaccines bought through commercial channels on April 2, 2021. I hope you may support the delivery of the next 600,000 doses of vaccines by April 9, 2021.”

He also expressed the significance of the ports of the two countries, the role in which they play in the enrichment and deepening of bilateral trade and economic cooperation, especially in the areas of agriculture, animal husbandry, transportation and infrastructure, and the increasing of transit traffic. In this regard Mr. G.Zandanshatar extended his wishes for the support in the prompt normalization of operational irregularities of certain ports that have been pending in recent days.

Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Mr. Li Zhanshu congratulated the Chairman of the State Great Hural Mr. G.Zandanshatar on his re-election as the eighth Speaker of the Parliament and stressed the development of bilateral relations and cooperation. 

The two sides agreed to intensify cooperation between the two countries' legislatures and work together to facilitate the dialogue of the two leaders into establishing concrete operations. The two sides agreed that there is great potential for further deepening trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. Legislatures need to work hard to achieve the goal of increasing current bilateral trade volumes to 10 billion USD as early as possible. So as to achieve this, it is necessary to harmonize the "Steppe Road" and "Regions and Roads" goals and develop cross-border cooperation between the two countries. 

As eternal neighbors of this world, the two countries have been developing their friendly relations. During this demanding period of the pandemic, the President of Mongolia Mr. Kh.Battulga visited China, donated 30,000 sheep and extended emotional assistance to China. This has become an example of the friendly cooperation between our two countries. Legislative cooperation is an important component of the Mongolia-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In his speech, Mr. Li Zhanshu noted that inter-parliamentary cooperation plays an important role in deepening bilateral political trust and understanding and strengthening the legal framework for cooperation. 

During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on changing the terms of the general agreement on the “National Currency Swap Agreement” between the Bank of Mongolia and the People's Bank of China and instead extending it to a long-term, soft loan between the two governments. 

Source: Press and Public Relations Department of the State Great Hural