China-Mongolia Friendship Week kicks off in Ulan Bator

ULAN BATOR, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The annual China-Mongolia Friendship Week, aimed at increasing mutual understanding and expanding people-to-people exchanges and cultural cooperation, kicked off here Monday.

"In recent years, China-Mongolia relations have maintained a strong momentum of development, which cannot be separated from the active support and extensive participation of the two peoples," Shen Minjuan, Chinese ambassador to Mongolia, said at the opening ceremony.

"The two countries are holding a series of 'China-Mongolia Friendship Week' activities for the second consecutive year, which conforms to the public will and provides an important platform for the two peoples to enhance understanding and friendship," the Chinese ambassador said.

Mongolia and China are eternal neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, said Gombo Bumtsend, vice director of the Department of Neighboring Countries at the Mongolian Foreign Ministry.

"In recent years, the frequency of mutual high-level visits between the two countries has increased, mutual political trust has strengthened, and the friendship between the two peoples has deepened. I am pleased to recall that we have joined hands to fight the epidemic by gifting one another with sheep and tea, writing a new chapter of friendship between the two neighbors," said Bumtsend.

In addition, documentaries on China's development and prosperity will be broadcasted on several Mongolian TV channels this week.