Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Sept. 7, 2024. Han visited Mongolia from Friday to Sunday upon invitation. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with Mongolian leaders during his visit to the country from Friday to Sunday after his trip to Russia for the Eastern Economic Forum, with the two sides vowing to deepen ties and expand cooperation. 

During his three-day visit, Han met separately with Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene, President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and Parliament Speaker Dashzegve Amarbayasgalan, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Chinese analysts said Mongolia attaches great importance to ties with China, and as a key neighbor of both China and Russia, Mongolia can play a significant role to boost regional development. 

In his meeting with Oyun-Erdene, Han called for cooperation in energy, connectivity and infrastructure construction, as well as consultation and coordination in international and regional affairs between the two countries. China welcomes Mongolia's designation of 2023-2025 as the "Years to Visit Mongolia," and stands ready to strengthen exchanges with Mongolia's youth, students and media. 

The Chinese vice president also expressed hope for deepening cooperation among China, Mongolia and Russia, calling for the speeding up of the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor.

For his part, Oyun-Erdene said that Mongolia is willing to work with China to push forward bilateral relations in a new era in the spirit of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and common development.

Before Han's visit, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Mongolia earlier this month, which shows that both China and Russia treat Mongolia as an important partner and crucial neighbor, said Cui Heng, a research fellow with the Center for Russian Studies of East China Normal University.

Cooperation between Northeast China and Russia's Far East will boost the regional integration of Northeast Asia, and with Mongolia as part of the region, it will surely be included in the grand plan and will benefit by this process. The China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor is a great example of this, Cui said.

China, Mongolia and Russia share a common desire to boost regional development and interconnectivity. This is not only good for the three countries but also shows that international cooperation is still functioning despite the interruption by bloc confrontation and protectionism, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

Da noted the trilateral cooperation, which traditionally focuses on energy and mining, will be further expanded to the areas of climate change and green development.