Stories of state gifts from and to Xi: Gifts of sheep and tea demonstrate profound China-Mongolia friendship

On Feb. 27, 2020, Khaltmaa Battulga, then president of Mongolia, made a special trip to China and presented to Chinese President Xi Jinping a parchment as certificate for the donation of 30,000 sheep from Mongolia to China to support China's fight against COVID-19.

Photo shows a parchment presented by Khaltmaa Battulga, then president of Mongolia, to Chinese President Xi Jinping in February 2020 as the certificate for the donation of 30,000 sheep from Mongolia to China to support China's fight against COVID-19. (Photo/Hu Yang)

The Mongolian people sympathized with the Chinese people for the suffering caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and stood together with the Chinese people in this difficult time, said Battulga, who was the first foreign head of state to visit China since the epidemic’s outbreak.

To the Mongolian people, the sheep symbolizes sincerity and warmth, and is the first choice for a gift. They wanted to give fresh and delicious mutton to the Chinese people who fought against COVID-19 courageously, and hoped that the gift would help enhance the Chinese people's resistance and immunity to infections, and win the battle against the epidemic sooner.

In return for the good intentions and strong support, China gave Mongolia carefully selected tea bricks from central China's Hubei Province, which was once hard-hit by COVID-19, and donated anti-epidemic supplies and living necessities to Mongolia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) holds talks with Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 27, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

Xi specifically mentioned the gifts between China and Mongolia later in a phone conversation with his Mongolian counterpart, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, in July 2021.

After the onset of COVID-19, the two countries joined hands in fighting the epidemic and deepened the friendship between their people, as demonstrated by such touching stories as China's Hubei province shipping local tea to Mongolia as gifts in appreciation of its earlier donation of sheep to China, Xi said.

As a saying goes, "Hard times reveal true friends." When COVID-19 raged across the world, there emerged many beautiful stories of friendship between China and other countries, including those involving the gifts of sheep and tea.

"The global response to COVID-19 has made it clear that mankind rise and fall together in a community with a shared future. Mutual support and cooperation in solidarity are the only way for mankind to overcome crises." The remarks made by Xi have been repeatedly proven true.