Recently, countries such as the United States, France, and Germany have extended a friendly hand to Mongolia, raising doubts about whether Mongolia will become a "defective" neighbor. However, the progress of the China-Russia-Mongolia gas pipeline project has been delayed, and Mongolia's attitude has become the key.
Mongolia, a country located between China and Russia, has always attracted attention with its special geopolitical status. Despite its unique geographical location, Mongolia seems to be politically and ideologically leaning more towards the West. This trend has been particularly evident in recent international exchanges, with countries such as Germany, the United States, and France strengthening their cooperation with Mongolia.
Germany** plans to establish a strategic partnership with Mongolia and cooperate in areas such as the mining industry. Germany's visit to Steinmeier further underscores the warming of relations between the two sides. Mongolia's abundant mineral resources, especially rare earths, have become the object of cooperation between Western countries. Against this backdrop, Germany sees this cooperation as a "key step in reducing its dependence on China and Russia."
At the same time, Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun Erden's visit to the United States has also attracted widespread attention. The two sides signed an agreement on the development of civil aviation and strengthened cooperation in the field of rare earths. Oyun Erden even described the United States as Mongolia's "guiding North star in the journey to democracy," a statement that undoubtedly further exacerbated tensions between the United States and China.
Not to be outdone, France showed the importance it attaches to the region by Macron's personal visit to Mongolia. France** interpreted the visit as a "loosening" of Russia in an attempt to weaken Russia's influence in Mongolia.
This series of moves by Mongolia has brought a lot of trouble to China and Russia. The China-Russia-Mongolia gas pipeline project has not been able to make a breakthrough, and Mongolia's unclear position undoubtedly increases the risks of the project. For China, Mongolia's repeated sideways jumps not only threaten the geopolitical security of China and Russia, but may also affect the stability of the Asia-Pacific region.
However, China is not without a solution. The Russian-led Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline project is an important bargaining chip. However, due to disagreements between China and Russia on issues such as natural gas, the project has not been officially launched. This also deprives Mongolia of an important development opportunity.
Historically, Mongolia was geographically positioned as a "strategic buffer zone" for China during the Soviet era, and was therefore ideologically biased and hostile to China. This "stereotype" did not change after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and as a result, Mongolia's relations with China have always been difficult to develop in depth. Today, Mongolia maintains friendly relations with China on the surface, but in reality values Chinese investment more than genuine friendship. Article XV.