‘ Erroneous’ Dalai visit to Mongolia hurts ties with China: FM

Anti- China forces in Mongolia have been on the rise as China’s neighbor country recently approved the Dalai Lama’s visit despite an elevation in Sino- Mongolian ties, experts said.

“The erroneous action taken by the Mongolian side on the Dalai Lama’s visit hurt the political foundation of China- Mongolia relations and exerted a negative impact on the development of bilateral relations,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily briefing on Wednesday, in response to media reports that the Chi- nese side had indefinitely postponed an inter- governmental meeting and another one on mines and energy, which was scheduled to be held soon.

It is China’s warning to Mongolia, Yang Mian, a professor of international relations at the Communication University of China, told the Global Times, adding that China will await Mongolia’s response to decide whether further sanctions would be imposed.

During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s State visit to Mongolia in 2014, China agreed to offer sea ports and railway transport access to its landlocked neighbor and help Mongolia finance a number of projects in medical care, education, railroads and residential community construction, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Dalai Lama on Saturday addressed followers at the Gandantegchenlin Monastery in Ulan Bator during a four- day visit to Mongolia, which was “described by his hosts as purely religious in nature and no meetings with officials are planned,” the Associated Press reported.

Opposition parties and religious forces in the country where Tibetan Buddhism is the main religion may make use of China’s opposition to the Dalai Lama’s visit to hype anti- China sentiment, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Those parities reject the opening up Mongolia’s economy, since it primarily relies on mineral resources, Yang said.

Mongolia canceled a previous visit by the Dalai Lama that coincided with Xi’s visit to the country in August 2014, Bloomberg reported.