Category Archives: China

Mongolia doesn’t need to join the SCO

Posted on June 7, 2018 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan and Julian Dierkes Like Switzerland for NATO, Mongolia’s absence in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) creates a neutral spot in the Chinese-led regional grouping. But, Mongolia neither hinders any dreams of the creators nor presents any benefits … Continue reading →

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Elevate Ulaanbaatar Dialogue

Posted on April 28, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

OPINION By Julian Dierkes and Mendee Jargalsaikhan Mongolia is in a good position to contribute to renewed dialogue with North Korea in order to avert confrontations and, in the long run, lead to more constructive interactions. In an eventful Spring … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, China, Germany, International Relations, Japan, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Russia, South Korea, Ulaanbaatar, Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia’s Role in Engaging North Korea

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes North Korea has long been an important element in Mongolia’s foreign relations. With the surprise announcement of plans for a meeting between Pres. Donald Trump and Chairman of the Worker’s Party of Korea Kim Jong-un, we tried … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, Japan, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, South Korea, Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, UN, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

Mongolia at Davos 2018: Party like it’s 2009?

Posted on February 1, 2018 by marissa smith

By Marissa Smith In recent years, Mongolia has regularly sent a delegation to the World Economic Forum at Davos. This year was somewhat less eventful than some years, when President Elbegdorj himself attended and presided over a “Mongolia Night” and … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Development, Economics, Environment, Environment, Erdenet, Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, International Cooperation Fund, International Relations, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolia and ..., Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Politics, South Korea | Tagged | Leave a comment

New President, New Foreign Policy?

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes The Mongolian constitution assigns responsibility for international relations to the president. Ts Elbegdorj has been very active in this regard for the past eight years of his two terms as president. With the election campaign getting ready … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Presidential 2017, Russia, South Korea, UN, United States | Tagged | 1 Comment

North Korea Turmoil = Mongolian International Relations Role

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Some months ago, I speculated about the implications that a changed foreign policy under U.S. Pres. Trump might have for Mongolia. I was certainly right about one aspect: [W]ith Donald Trump becoming U.S.-president, I have to add a … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, United States | Tagged | Leave a comment

Anti-Chinese Attitudes in Mongolia through Generational Imprinting

Posted on March 9, 2017 by mendee

By Mendee Jargalsaikhan A few years back, Julian introduced me the concept of generational imprints and pointed out the work of Karl Mannheim.  Mannheim (Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge. Routledge: 1952) defined a generation as a social creation and argued that … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Nationalism, Politics, Social Issues | Tagged | 1 Comment

International Relations in the Trump Era

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes As someone who thinks and writes about political risk regarding Mongolia, my focus is on domestic politics more than on international relations. Yet, with Donald Trump becoming U.S.-president, I have to add a fairly random element to … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, International Relations, Mongolia and ..., Nationalism, North Korea, Presidential 2017, Russia, UN, United States | Tagged | 2 Comments

Bullied by China over Visit by the Dalai Lama

Posted on December 21, 2016 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes [With thanks to Bulgan B for her help in understanding the interview and subsequent statements.] Late in November, His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Mongolia. This was the first visit since 2011. Previous visits occurred in 2006 … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Dalai Lama, Foreign Policy, Religion | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Diplomat Podcast on Mongolia as Asia’s Hidden Geopolitical Player

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes I’m finally getting around to listening to The Diplomat’s podcast episode focused on Mongolia, “Northeast Asia’s Hidden Geopolitical Player“. Ankit Panda, one of the editors of The Diplomat, speaks to Peter Bittner who spent some time in … Continue reading →

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Permanent Neutrality

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Julian Dierkes

At the UN General Assembly, on Sept 29 2015, Pres. Ts Elbegdorj included a very brief statement in his address that, Mongolia has pursued an peaceful, open, multi-pillar foreign policy. This stance enabled us to declare Mongolia in a state … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Policy, Military, Mongolia and ..., Russia, UN | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Potential Northeast Asian Economic Corridors: Differing Chinese and Russian Priorities

Posted on May 8, 2015 by mendee

Sitting at a strategic crossroads between Europe and East Asia, Mongolia and North Korea are potential economic corridors for the wider Eurasian landmass. However, the realization of such corridors depends in large part on Chinese and Russian policy priorities, since … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Economics, Infrastructure, International Relations, Japan, Mongolia and ..., North Korea, Russia, South Korea | Tagged | Leave a comment

Lingering anti-Sinic sentiments in post-Communist Mongolia: Why dislike the Chinese?

Posted on January 9, 2015 by mendee

Just sharing a long-waited working paper on anti-Chinese sentiments in Mongolia.  The following is the abstract, for the full paper – here is the link. Sino-Mongolian relations have been amicable ever since the Sino-Soviet and Sino-Mongolian rapprochements of the late … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Mendee Jargalsaikhan | Tagged | 4 Comments

Mongolia – From Sino-Russian Buffer to Conversion Zone

Posted on November 29, 2014 by mendee

Last autumn, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin made separate visits to Mongolia, met for a tri-lateral (Russia-China-Mongolia) summit in the Tajikistan capital of Dushanbe during the leadership summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and dispatched their vice-foreign ministers … Continue reading →

Posted in Asia Pacific Memo, China, Foreign Policy, Mongolia and ..., Russia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Progress on Oyu Tolgoi?

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes The Mongolian government has been battling a homemade economic crisis for some two years now. It has been a largely self-inflicted crisis brought on by some hasty policy decisions regarding investments that have led to a massive … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Foreign Investment, Foreign Policy, Mining, Mining, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Russia | Tagged | Leave a comment