ULAN BATOR — Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga met visiting State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the State House in Ulaanbaatar on Aug 23.

Battulga asked Wang to convey his cordial greetings and best wishes to President Xi Jinping.

He said that Mongolia admires China’s development achievements, attaches great importance to China’s status in the world, and always regards relations with China as a diplomatic priority.

In 2019, Mongolia and China are set to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

In order to take the opportunity to deepen the friendship between the two countries and push the comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level, Mongolia is willing to closely work with China to arrange commemorative activities, the Mongolian president noted.

With vast territory and abundant resources, Mongolia is at a critical stage of national development and construction. The country is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, economy and trade, tourism, and infrastructure construction to help its own development and benefit the two peoples, Battulga said.

Wang conveyed President Xi’s best regards to Battulga, noting that China and Mongolia are close neighbors linked by mountains and rivers.

He said China always respects Mongolia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and believes that Mongolia will also support China’s efforts to safeguard its core interests.

China is willing to take the opportunity of marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations next year to cooperate with Mongolia to lay out a new blueprint for the future development of bilateral ties, Wang said.

Mongolia is one of the first countries to support the Belt and Road Initiative, Wang said, adding the initiative has shown broad prospects for deepening bilateral cooperation.

China is ready to strengthen interconnection and mutual trust with Mongolia within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, improve both peoples’ livelihood, boost people-to-people exchanges, and continuously promote the cooperation between China, Mongolia and Russia, the foreign minister said.

He added that China supports Mongolia in consistently upgrading its level of cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

He also expressed the hope that the two countries will expedite the talks on the signing of a free-trade agreement, so as to bring substantial benefits to both peoples.

On the same day, Wang also met with Mongolia’s Parliament Speaker Miyegombo Enkhbold, and held talks with his Mongolian counterpart Damdin Tsogtbaatar.