Chinese, Mongolian Leaders Agree to Boost Ties, Cooperation

Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj vowed to boost bilateral ties and cooperation during a meeting here Wednesday.

Wen said China and Mongolia share a long borderline, which has become a bond of common interests and friendly cooperation.

"A good bilateral relationship not only serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples, but also can contribute to peace, stability and common development in the region," he said.

The Chinese premier said China takes a strategic and long-term perspective when developing relations with Mongolia, adding Mongolia is a priority in diplomacy toward its neighbors.

"I have reached many important agreements with (Mongolian) Prime Minister Sukhbaataryn Batbold on keeping exchanges of top-level visits, expanding cooperation in areas such as natural resources, energy, infrastructure and agriculture, and promoting cultural exchanges," Wen said.

He pledged China is willing to work with Mongolia to promote bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields and to bring the two peoples, especially the youths, closer to each other to ensure the steady development of the two countries' good-neighborly partnership of mutual trust in the long run.

Elbegdorj said Mongolia and China are good neighbors and Mongolia is committed to strengthening the friendly relations of cooperation with China.

The economies of Mongolia and China, with different advantages, are highly complementary, he said, adding he hopes the two sides can expand pragmatic cooperation for mutual benefits.

Premier Wen also delivered a speech on Wednesday at the opening of the Sino-Mongolian Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum.

In his speech, Wen made four proposals on further boosting bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

First, to boost investment in mineral resources development and infrastructure construction. Funds and technological support will be provided for this endeavor.

Both nations should push for the completion of a number of major projects at early dates to contribute to the comprehensive enhancement of bilateral ties, he said.

China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Mongolia in such fields as energy, railway, highway, port and telecommunications. China is also ready to work with Mongolia to extend bilateral cooperation to such fields as environment, logistics, tourism, science and technology, he said.

Second, China supports its enterprises to import more farm and animal husbandry products from Mongolia and encourage them to invest in projects that create more jobs and improve the livelihood of local residents.

China is willing to increase economic aid to Mongolia and intensify support for Mongolia's farming industry, education and health sectors as well as poverty reduction efforts, said the Chinese premier.

Third, both sides should make specific efforts to implement the medium-term development outline for Sino-Mongolian economic and trade cooperation and continue to strengthen research on strategic issues.

Fourth, China and Mongolia should further strengthen their ties within such multilateral cooperation frameworks as Northeast Asia economic and trade cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Asia-Europe Meeting, and boost cooperation in trade, investment, logistic and technology within a number of sub-regional cooperation frameworks.

Wen arrived in Ulan Bator on Tuesday for a two-day official visit to Mongolia, which is the third leg of his four-nation Asian tour. He has visited South Korea and Japan and will also travel to Myanmar.