Chinese president stresses Beijing’s willingness to work with Moscow, Ulaanbaatar to ‘eliminate external interference’ amid trilateral summit with counterparts
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said his country is willing to work with Moscow and Ulaanbaatar to strengthen mutual trust and trilateral cooperation amid a summit with his Russian and Mongolian counterparts in Beijing, according to a statement by the Kremlin.
“China is willing to work with Russia and Mongolia to strengthen political mutual trust, uphold the original goal of cooperation, eliminate external interference, and jointly promote high-quality development of trilateral cooperation,” Xi said in opening remarks during the summit held in the Chinese capital, the statement noted.
The trilateral talks took place a day after Xi hosted the 25th Heads of State Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the city of Tianjin, northern China.
The trilateral cooperation between China, Russia, and Mongolia has been developing steadily with “real results,” Xi said, adding that the medium-term roadmap in this regard is being successfully implemented.
The trade turnover between the three countries is steadily growing, while trilateral cooperation in various sectors is “consistently deepening,” with new impetus given by key joint projects within the framework of the program for the creation of an economic corridor, he noted.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated Moscow’s strive for the development of “mutually beneficial, equal, and multifaceted” relations with both Beijing and Ulaanbaatar.
“At the same time, we consider it important that successful bilateral cooperation be supplemented and acquire new facets through a trilateral format of interaction,” Putin said, citing that the three countries have “much in common.”
“We share an interest in the joint development of political, economic, and humanitarian ties. And most importantly, Russia, China, and Mongolia are good neighbors, and our peoples are united by long-standing traditions of friendship and mutual support,” Putin added, expressing his confidence that the meeting will focus on the main areas of trilateral cooperation and address plans for the future.
Meanwhile, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh noted his country’s efforts to deepen bilateral and trilateral relations and cooperation with its two neighbors in all areas, as well as to expand mutually beneficial interaction and collaboration.
Khurelsukh argued the three countries expanded their trilateral cooperation significantly over the past decade, underlining that “specific results have been achieved in the implementation of the program to create an economic corridor."
“I would like to note that the Mongolian side attaches particular importance to the implementation of joint projects in such areas as the development of economic corridor infrastructure, transport, logistics, energy and trade,” he said.
The three countries, at Mongolia’s initiative, held the first meeting between their heads of government in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad last year, the president noted, adding that an agreement was reached in principle to hold the next meeting in this regard in Russia.
“We believe that this meeting of the heads of government of the three countries plays an important role in the practical implementation of the agreements reached at the level of heads of state, as well as the coordination and agreed implementation of strategies and development programs of our countries,” he said.
