值此中蒙建交75周年之际，蒙古知名杂志Welcome to Mongolia近日刊发对沈敏娟大使的专访。沈大使就中蒙关系和务实合作、在蒙工作生活等畅谈了感想，期待两国邻里相知相亲，心手相连，命运与共。全文如下：

1.Your Excellency, you have taken on your diplomatic mission in Mongolia recently. Could you please name most important work you have done during this short period of time?

I came to Mongolia last September. In less than just one month, I was honored to accompany H.E. President Khurelsukh attending the 3rd Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation (BRF) held in Beijing, where President Khurelsukh held important talks with H.E. President Xi Jinping. Our two leaders envisioned a new blueprint for high-quality cooperation under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and agreed in exerting concerted efforts in future modernization drive and building of a community with a shared future between China and Mongolia. The same month also witnessed a successful meeting between the Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene in Bishkek, where they reached a series of consensus on practical cooperation between our two countries. The aforesaid consensus well interprets what I should be working for since I came to Mongolia.

It has been gratifying to see that, thanks to the joint efforts on both sides, China-Mongolia trade volume almost registered a 30% increase in 2023, reaching a record high of nearly USD 17 billion with coal exports to China doubled to nearly 70 million tons. We are actually approaching the trade volume target of USD 20 billion set by the two Heads of State.

Green development stands out as a new priority in bilateral cooperation between our two countries. Last year, President Khurelsukh made a field trip to Ningxia, where he got to know China’s experience in desertification response. Last September, we managed to set up the China-Mongolia Desertification Prevention and Control Cooperation Center in Ulaanbaatar. We also successfully launched the project to provide forest fire fighting equipment and capacity building for Mongolia, the first of its kind financed by the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund. We do hope that China’s funds, technology and experience could help materialize Mongolia’s “One Billion Trees” initiative, thus contributing to a better ecological environment in your country.

People-to-people exchanges between our two countries have secured recovery and gained headway. In 2023, nearly 140,000 Chinese tourists visited Mongolia, accounting for one-fifth of the total number of foreign tourists. Last September, Mongolia sent its largest-ever sports delegation for the Hangzhou Asian Games, the morin khuur orchestra put up a successful performance in Shanghai, and the renowned Chinese writers such as Yu Hua came to Mongolia getting together with their fans here. The train connecting Ulaanbaatar and Hohhot already resumed operation, making the travel between our two countries more convenient for our peoples.

Furthermore, the friendship between our two countries has been getting even fonder and stronger. This winter imposed on Mongolia the worst freezing weather in five decades. China felt for our Mongolian friends and was the first to help. The Chinese central government and its Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region provided emergency assistance, while the Chinese Embassy, Consulate General and enterprises in Mongolia made donations in cash and kind, and contributed to the rescue efforts in various locations. What we have done really carried on the moving story of “gifts of sheep and tea” during the pandemic, and well depicted a Mongolian proverb “Neighbors are connected at hearts and by a shared destiny.”

2. You are the first madame ambassador assigned to represent China in Mongolia. Mongolian Foreign Minister also happens to be a lady. Being a lady, what privilege, if there is any, do you enjoy in your official capacity and personal relations with our Foreign Minister?

I am the 18th ambassador of China to Mongolia, and it’s true that I am the first female one. It is my great honor to receive special attention from my Mongolian friends. This also reflects the significance attached by both countries to the role and status of women in our societies. The Chinese people always say that, "Women hold up half the sky." We have quite a few lady ambassadors serving China as I do. Take the just-concluded Two Sessions (of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference) as an example, female deputies account for 26.54% of the total and 22.4% of the CPPCC deputies are ladies, respectively registering a record-high percentage. In China, women take up 45.8% of the work force involving science and technology and more than half of the students in the higher education institutes are girls.

Actually, the Mongolian women are equally outstanding, out of whom Foreign Minister Battsetseg is an excellent member. She well represents Mongolia in the international community and is quite well-known in China. This year will be of importance to the cause of women’s development in Mongolia, because I notice that the proportion of female MPs in the new State Great Hural (parliament) will rise to 30%. This year, World Conference on Women will also be held in Mongolia. As a female ambassador, I do share this excitement and pride with my dear female friends in Mongolia.

Recently, on the International Women's Day reception held at the Embassy, I conveyed my due respect and best wishes to the remarkable female representatives from all walks of life in Mongolia. I am convinced that "she power" will continue to shine in our two countries, play a greater role in promoting national development and social progress of both our countries, and contribute more to growing amity and cooperation between China and Mongolia.

3.This year is full of remarkable events and anniversaries in the history of bilateral relations. Particularly, we are marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, 30 years of signing an agreement on friendly relations and cooperation, and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of an inter-parliamentary cooperation mechanism. What lead-ups are planned to the remarkable dates?

Thank you for well presenting the special significance of China-Mongolia relations in 2024, which does reflect your care and support to our bilateral relations. Our celebrations has already been kicked off on 4 February, when we unveiled "Happy Spring Festival" events for the Year of the Dragon with dragon dancing by skiers at the "Sky Resort" in Ulaanbaatar, which also launched the activities commemorating the 75th anniversary of our bilateral diplomatic ties. In such an important year ahead, Mongolia will have both a new government and a newly-elected parliament. In this sense, China looks forward to maintaining frequent high-level exchanges with Mongolia.

I do have high expectations for our trade performance this year. It’s encouraging to note that the first two months of this year witnessed export of coal and copper to China increasing respectively by 35% and 16%. I do hope that the trade target of USD 20 billion will be realized within the year. We also hope that our two countries will continue to secure synergy between our development strategies, advance quality Belt and Road cooperation, and bring forth more benefits to our peoples.

In terms of people-to-people exchanges, various activities such as China-Mongolia Friendship Week would be held, and exchange of visits between cultural and sports delegations from both countries would be conducted. It’s pleasant to know that more and more Mongolian students choose to study in China, and many Chinese students also come to Mongolia to pursue their studies. I hope that youths from both countries could join us in the celebrations and share their stories on China-Mongolia friendship. We will also encourage the Chinese tourists to answer the call to “Go MonGOlia” and experience your fantastic nomadic culture and breathtaking natural beauty. Of course, Mongolian friends are also more than welcome to go visiting China.

4.What steps is China taking towards enhancing Mongoliа-China border checkpoints’ crossing capacity, linking some of them to railroads, and ensuring smooth transport and logistics operations?

Port revitalization holds the key to implementing Mongolia’s New Recovery Policy, and facility inter-connectivity is among the priority areas of cooperation under the BRI framework. Therefore, our two countries attach great importance to ensuring port inter-connectivity. Nowadays, all the existing ports between our two countries have resumed passenger and cargo transportation. The Erenhot-Zamiin Uud Port has managed to solve all the problems that may affect transportation capacity except the interchange of different gauges of rails. The AGV unmanned cross-border transportation system has been introduced at the Gantsmod-Gashuunsuhait Port and Sekhee-Shiveekhuren Port, and will be introduced to the Mandal-Khangi Port within the year.

We will stay in close communications with the Mongolian side and, in line with the principle of “opening as many ports as possible and connecting as many railways and roads as possible”, accelerate the development of port facilities and open new ports so long as the conditions allow. We also stand ready to work with the Mongolian side to explore more ways to improve port-related capacity and efficiency, so as to better serve economic cooperation, trade and people-to-people exchanges between our two countries.

5. Our countries have set an aim to increase bilateral trade turnover up to USD 20 billion in the near future. As of 2023, the total bilateral trade turnover reached USD 17.6 billion. What activities have been planned by the two sides to reach the target? Which sectors are the most promising for bilateral cooperation and investments, in your opinion?

China and Mongolia share geographical proximity, economic complementarities and promising prospects in trade. At present, China has been securing a positive economic rebound and acting as a crucial engine for the growth of global economy, which will surely generate fresh opportunities for the economies in the world, especially its neighboring countries with Mongolia included. As the current trade volume between China and Mongolia is approaching the set target of USD 20 billion, China will continue to deepen traditional cooperation of trade in minerals, and import more agricultural and animal husbandry products towards securing diversification of exports from Mongolia.

China and Mongolia are well poised to nurture new highlights and growth priorities in economic cooperation and trade, such as green development, sci-tech innovation and digital economy. The volume of China's digital economy already accounts for more than 40% of its GDP. China is willing to share its experience and help Mongolia achieve digital transformation, thus promoting industrial upgrading, structural reform and economic growth. In 2023, clean energy sector constituted 40% of China’s annual GDP growth and has become the strongest boost to China's economic growth. As a country with rich endowments of wind and solar power, Mongolia is in the best position to build renewable energy into the main thrust of its economic growth, which bodes well for China-Mongolia clean energy cooperation in the future.

6.Our “Welcome to Mongolia: MonGOlia Always Moving” magazine is designed to help foreign tourists andtravelers to know more about Mongolia. Mongolia hosts the most number of tourists from China, our southern neighbor. What do you think what we should do to increase significantly the tourist flow and boost people-to-people contacts? The intergovernmental agreement on deepening tourism cooperation was signed in the context of the Years to Visit Mongolia declared by the Government of Mongolia through 2025. As you know, both sides underlined the importance of the agreement for laying the basis for developing border tourism. How do you see the role of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in this respect? What infrastructure, in your opinion, we should create to attract foreign, in particular, Chinese tourists in a larger number?

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate Mongolia for being awarded the best tourist destination in 2024 by Lonely Planet. Following the "Welcome to Mongolia" campaign, Mongolia has launched the catchphrase and logo of "Go MonGOlia". Thumbs up for your fantastic idea! Mongolia has set the goal of attracting one million visitors this year, and I have full confidence in you turning the goal into reality. I will definitely encourage more Chinese tourists to come visiting Mongolia through your magazine.

We welcome the signing of the border tourism agreement between China and Mongolia and look forward to the detailed arrangements put in place at an earliest date. At the same time, we are willing to work with the Mongolian side to come up with ideas and policies to attract more tourists, taking into consideration the actual conditions of both countries, especially the specific features and needs of the Chinese travelers.

Differentiation should be a good aspect to explore more by the Mongolian side. This year's Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival turned out to be extremely popular, attracting a huge number of tourists from southern China as nicknamed "little potatoes" by the northern locals. Mongolia is rich in winter tourism resources and there is still enormous potential to tap in terms of receiving tourists from abroad, such as "little potatoes" from southern China, which will, in turn, ease the pressure on tourist attractions in northern China.

Meanwhile, a more facilitating visa policy is very important. More and more Chinese people are now keen on making travels as soon as they want, or, better known in China, trips without planning. China now has comprehensive mutual visa exemption arrangements with 23 countries, and over 60 countries and regions offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival policy to the Chinese citizens. Since I came to Mongolia last September, many countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have granted visa exemptions to China. Mongolia has also made visa exemption arrangements for many countries. After I came here, Mongolia exempted visas to the citizens from the UAE, Vietnam, Maldives, and Paraguay. If the Chinese tourists could be entitled to the same convenience, with its geographical proximity and rich tourism resources, Mongolia will be definitely able to attract more Chinese tourists. Better tourist facilities and more signs in both Chinese and English will also produce positive effects.

7.Which aimags and soums have you been to? What do you like most in Mongolia?

I am actually making plans to visit Mongolian aimags and soums soon. My colleagues recommended a poem to me, My Nature Land by the famous Mongolian writer DashdorjiinNatsagdorj, “High stately mountains Khentei, Khangai, and Soyon, Forests and thick-wooded ridges-the beauty of the North, The Great Gobi desert-the spaces of Menen, Sharga, and Nomin, And the oceans of sand deserts that dominate the South; This, this is my native land.” These beautiful lines have indeed made it more difficult for me to decide where to go first, because there are too many nice places to see.

My hometown is located in the south to the Yangze River. Mongolia is home to a completely different kind of beauty featuring vastness and magnificence, and a people characterized by distinctive dynamism and candidness, which has kept impressing me a lot. I look forward to appreciating the natural beauty all across Mongolia and visiting important cooperation projects between our two countries. I will also try to get an in-depth understanding of the regional development strategy recently initiated by Mongolia so as to pinpoint more areas of cooperation in the future.

As a Chinese saying goes, "One needs to travel ten thousand miles and read ten thousand books." I have every confidence that Mongolia’s beautiful landscape will enable me to better understand Mongolia and further promote China-Mongolia cooperation. I would also like to have more opportunities to share my experience and thoughts through your magazine.