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The presidents of Russia and China pose at a youth center in Vladivostok

China’s threat to Russia’s Far East: Real or perceived?

The vulnerability of Russia’s Far Eastern and Siberian regions to Chinese expansion has become a truism. Yet most Russians seem to favor closer ties with China, and bilateral relations may be at their best in history, without a trace of military or political tension. There are also few signs of Chinese economic penetration, at least on a level that exceeds Japan’s or South Korea’s. Migration pressure from China into the underpopulated Russian north may be the hollowest of these popular myths.

Russia & Central Asia

Zorigt Dashdorj

06.12.2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledges allegiance to the constitution at a March session of the National People’s Congress

Xi’s growing influence goes beyond constitutional changes

China’s National People’s Congress recently abolished term and age limits for the highest offices, including that of president. While the changes may not mean much for the workings of the Chinese party-state or the country’s development, they are part of a broader effort by President Xi Jinping to expand his influence and that of the Communist Party.

China & Northeast Asia

Zorigt Dashdorj

06.08.2018

A map showing Central Asia’s five states, their energy resources and key crude oil and gas pipelines

Russia’s and China’s quiet contest in Central Asia

While Russia focuses on its geopolitical objectives in Central Asia, China’s primarily interest is in the region’s mineral and energy resources. As recipients of Chinese investments and development aid, the five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – are seeking to leverage the two powers’ competition for their own benefit.

Russia & Central Asia

Zorigt Dashdorj

17.04.2018

The successful candidate in Mongolia’s 2017 presidential race

Mongolia’s consensus-based governance shields democracy

Battulga Khaltmaa won the 2017 presidential race in Mongolia with the sort of discourse that has been also heard from populists in the West, but the country’s well-balanced constitutional system and its ingrained culture of consensus decision-making are shielding one of Asia’s rare democracies from backsliding into authoritarian rule.

Mongolia

Zorigt Dashdorj

18.10.2017

Map: Nuclear-weapons-free zones around the world

Mongolia’s role in security on the Korean Peninsula

Mongolia might be one of the only countries with which North Korea could have a normal conversation: the countries have historically had friendly ties. And Mongolia has hosted negotiations between North Korea and Japan, for example, before. However, a wide gap remains between Pyongyang’s goals and the West’s. Until the sides come to the negotiating table, Mongolia will play its own role: showcasing an example of a country in Northeast Asia with communist roots that achieved security without pursuing nuclear weapons.

Mongolia

Zorigt Dashdorj

12.09.2017

Mongolian Prime Minister Erdenebat greets Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Ulan Bator

Mongolia’s June elections and their impact

Fed up with economic and political drift, Mongolian voters handed the center-left opposition a crushing victory in the June 29 general election. What the new government does with its constitutional majority is another question. To keep the sputtering economy afloat, it will have to strike shrewd bargains with powerful neighbors and creditors.

Mongolia

Zorigt Dashdorj

22.07.2016

Ulaanbaatar: Mongolia will continue its ‘multi-pillar’ foreign policy, but the rivalry between global powers could, in time, make it harder to strike the right balance (source: dpa)

Focus on Mongolia: walking the foreign policy tightrope (Part 2)

Over the past 25 years Mongolia has benefited substantially from its ‘multi-pillar’ foreign policy. The country prioritised relations with its two powerful neighbours – Russia and China – creating a geopolitical context that has enhanced its security and economic growth. At the same time, Mongolia developed the concept of ‘third neighbours’ – large, global powers w...

Mongolia

Zorigt Dashdorj

10.12.2015

Beijing, Nov. 10, 2015: Chinese President Xi Jinping (centre R) with First Lady Peng Liyuan holds a welcoming ceremony for Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (centre L) with First Lady Bolormaa Khajidsuren in the Great Hall of the People (source: dpa)

Focus on Mongolia: walking the foreign policy tightrope (Part 1)

Mongolia is a large, sparsely populated, landlocked country sandwiched between two much stronger neighbours: Russia and China. For much of the past 300 years, the country has been dominated by one or the other of these two powers. Since its transition to democracy and a market economy in the early 1990s, it has pursued a ‘multi-pillar’ foreign policy that looks to ...

Mongolia

Zorigt Dashdorj

09.12.2015

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China’s threat to Russia’s Far East: Real or perceived?

Xi’s growing influence goes beyond constitutional changes

Russia’s and China’s quiet contest in Central Asia

Mongolia’s consensus-based governance shields democracy

Mongolia’s role in security on the Korean Peninsula

Mongolia’s June elections and their impact

Focus on Mongolia: walking the foreign policy tightrope (Part 2)

Focus on Mongolia: walking the foreign policy tightrope (Part 1)