Богдо-гэгэн VIII
Tserendorj maintained his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs after the occupation of Niislel Khüree (present day Ulaanbaatar) by troops under the Chinese warlord Xu Shuzheng in late 1919. Xu installed a dictatorial regime, imprisoned leaders of Mongolia's independence movement such as Khatanbaatar Magsarjav and Manlaibaatar Damdinsüren, and placed the Bogd Khan under house arrest. In the face of Chinese threats to exile the Bogd Khan, Tserendorj, Prime Minister Gonchigjalzangiin Badamdorj and the Bogd Khan acquiesced and signed a document "voluntarily" abdicating Mongolia's autonomy to Chinese rule. Although Badamdorj's career and reputation suffered irreparable damage as a result of his caving to Chinese pressure, Tserendorj escaped blame despite reports from the first American Consul in Kalgan, Samuel Sokobin, that Tserendorj had opted for reconciliation with the Chinese if negotiations could not produce independence.