Chinese President Xi Jinping declared Monday that China was ready to collaborate with Mongolia to develop more areas of mutually beneficial cooperation and advance hand-in-hand on their respective modernization paths. President Xi Jinping met with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh on the sidelines of the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on August 31, 2026. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) BISHKEK, August 31 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping declared Monday that China was ready to collaborate with Mongolia to develop more areas of mutually beneficial cooperation and advance hand-in-hand on their respective modernization paths. Xi made these remarks during a meeting with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh on the sidelines of the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. China and Mongolia are close neighboring countries connected by mountains and rivers, Xi noted, stating that peaceful coexistence, mutual support, solidarity and mutually beneficial cooperation have always been the main and fundamental characteristics of bilateral relations. China will continue to place importance on Sino-Mongolian relations in its neighborhood diplomacy, and work with Mongolia to consolidate mutual strategic trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and promote people-to-people connectivity, with the aim of injecting greater vitality into the comprehensive strategic partnership and promoting the building of a community of shared future between China and Mongolia, the Chinese president explained. The two sides must consolidate the political foundations of Sino-Mongolian relations development, respect each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and respect each other's fundamental interests and major concerns, he continued. Xi emphasized that China was ready to strengthen alignment of development strategies with Mongolia, promote traditional cooperation in trade, connectivity and energy and mineral resources, and explore cooperation potential in emerging fields such as green minerals, artificial intelligence and the digital economy. China hopes Mongolia will effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, Xi stated. He called on the two sides to strengthen coordination and cooperation in multilateral affairs and jointly address global challenges. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh on the sidelines of the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on August 31, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) Mongolia and China are always friendly neighbors who respect and trust each other mutually, and maintain good neighborly relations regardless of international developments, said Khurelsukh. China's development offers important opportunities to neighboring countries and drives the development of Asia and the world, he added. Deepening friendly cooperation with China is an absolute priority of Mongolia's foreign policy, he indicated, adding that Mongolia was ready to continuously consolidate mutual political trust with China, strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, industry, agriculture, mining and green economy, and bring bilateral relations to new heights. Mongolia firmly adheres to the one-China principle and recognizes that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, while issues related to Xinjiang, Xizang and Hong Kong are China's internal affairs, he stated. The four major global initiatives proposed by Xi as well as the vision of building a community of shared future for humanity are of great importance for maintaining world peace and security, promoting sustainable development and addressing global challenges, he indicated, adding that Mongolia was ready to work with China to implement them jointly. In partnership with Xinhua