Mongolia and U.S. Cement Ties as Mongolian Economy Suffers

U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, visited Mongolia on Sunday as Mongolian leadership aims to foster closer ties to the United States, according to PBS. Mongolia retains partnerships with China and Russia, but will also align closer with Washington to secure economic stability. Mongolian elections take place next month as some protesters call for the disbanding of parliament.

U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, visited Mongolia on Sunday as Mongolian leadership aims to foster closer ties to the United States, according to PBS. Mongolia retains partnerships with China and Russia, but will also align closer with Washington to secure economic stability. Mongolian elections take place next month as some protesters call for the disbanding of parliament.

Mongolian authorities have faced a great deal of anger from the public for their dealings with large mining companies. Critics accuse the Mongolian government of caving to the desires of Big Business while destroying the environment in the process. Mining is the only sector that produces viable income in Mongolia, but lower commodity prices and weaker demand from China have been detrimental to growth, which is why officials are turning to Washington.

Mongolian-U.S. relations are a win-win for both parties. The U.S. gets a chance to pull Ulaanbaatar away from China and Russia, and Mongolia gains the additional foreign investment it needs to sustain prosperity. China in particular wields a great deal of power over Mongolia, and Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea have made many Asian countries nervous.

Many other countries in the region are cozying up to Washington in response to Chinese aggression, providing a chance for Mongolians to reassert their sovereignty by breaking away from China. Despite Mongolia’s relationships with China and Russia, Ulaanbaatar has also pivoted to the EU through close trade alliances throughout the decades. The EU is Mongolia’s third-largest trading partner, notes European External Action Service.

Kerry’s outreach to Mongolia puts a dent in Russia’s efforts to maintain its economic influence over the young nation. The Russians have also turned to Mongolia as a buffer against China, but the Russian economic downturn and heavy sanctions has undermined Moscow in recent years.

Mongolians once viewed Russia and China as safe bets, but Washington offers more in the form of additional investment and potential trade deals that could benefit the East Asian country, and Kerry has offered some special deals as a starting point. For instance, the U.S. established a $2.4-million program that helps Mongolia’s young leaders, but the program is democracy-centered, and Mongolians will have to demonstrate that they hold a transparent government.

Although Mongolia is a successful democracy, it has a serious corruption problem, especially in regards to graft. The secretary and the Mongolian government will finalize a transparency agreement in the next few weeks.