Mongolia's Response To China's Rise

China's remarkable rise in recent two decades has drawn attention from all corners of the world. Besides current dominant players in international geopolitics who feel somewhat challenged by it, China's immediate neighbors are also influenced by it enormously. As a Mongolian student studying in China, I have had firsthand experience on how China is developing so rapidly and how Mongolia is affected by it. Therefore, my thesis will be concerned about Mongolia's response to China's rise. More specifically, I will focus on whether China's rise constitutes any threats to Mongolia, and if so how Mongolia would respond to it. I will look into historical relations between the two countries, relations during the cold-war era and discuss more in detail relations after the cold-war. I will talk about how Mongolian foreign policy has changed after Mongolia abandoned its Soviet styled political and economic system and chose to pursue democracy and free market system. Also I will examine how Mongolia is increasingly seeking to improve its international stance by following multi-pillared foreign policy and engaging itself in regional and international organizations.In my research I will utilize two main theories of international relations studies - realist and idealist to answer my research question. I will utilize main concepts, core concerns and major approaches from each of these theories to construct two different views on Mongolia's response to China's rise. I will examine how, in the eyes of supporters of each paradigm, Mongolia is responding to China's rise. I will provide two possible future scenarios according to my research findings. My scenarios will be based on historical facts and today's circumstances and will not try to speculate about the future but instead will try to look for possible variables for Mongolia to enhance its sovereignty and pursue its national interests.In the end, the hypothesis of my paper will be that China does not currently constitute any threats to Mongolia. I will argue that peaceful relations and economic cooperation will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future and maintaining the status-quo will be in the best interest of all parties involved. I will also provide some suggestions for current problems and future prospects on how to further develop friendly relations and achieve mutually beneficial co-existence.