China and Mongolia issued a joint statement in Beijing Tuesday, pledging to build closer ties.

The statement was issued while Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar was in Beijing for a seven-day visit, his first state visit since taking presidency in June.

Since arriving in Beijing on Sunday, Enkhbayar has held talks with President Hu Jintao and met with other Chinese leaders including Premier Wen Jiabao and top political advisor Jia Qinglin.

Leaders of the two countries agreed to expand bilateral ties and be good neighbors, friends and partners to each other, according to the statement.

The two sides believed that Mongolia's nonnuclear status is conducive to maintaining regional security. China said it supports Mongolia's efforts in enhancing its status.

Mongolia reiterated that the Taiwan issue is China's internal affairs and Mongolia abides by the one-China policy and supports China's efforts in national reunification, according to the statement.

The two sides also highlighted bilateral economic cooperation.

"Both sides agreed that economic and trade cooperation is a key part of the China-Mongolia good-neighborly partnership of mutual trust," the statement says, adding that the two sides agreed to promote reciprocal cooperation with priority on resource exploitation and infrastructure construction.

The two sides said they would continue to encourage local governments and companies to expand economic and trade cooperation and enhance cooperation in energy, transportation and telecommunication sectors, the statement says.

Ten cooperation agreements were signed by the two countries on Monday, including one in which China agreed to provide Mongolia with US$300 million of export credit with favorable terms. Other agreements covered mining, infrastructure construction, transportation, intellectual property right cooperation and education.

China and Mongolia also planed to enhance exchanges and cooperation in the arts and cultural areas, according to the statement.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the success of the Chinese Culture Week in Mongolia and Mongolian Culture Week in China and agreed to hold more such activities in the future.

The statement says the two sides were satisfied with the smooth operation of the second joint inspection of the China-Mongolia borderlines and agreed to expand trade relations and personnel exchanges between the border areas of the two countries.

On international affairs, the two countries agreed to join hands in promoting the important role of the UN in safeguarding world peace and security.

They agreed that the UN reform should be conducive to enhancing multi-lateralism and improving the UN's authority and efficiency as well as its capability of handling traditional and non-traditional threats.

The statement says that the two sides agreed that the reform of the UN Security Council should take full consideration of the interests of developing countries and small and medium sized nations.

The two sides also pointed out that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) played an important role in promoting friendship and cooperation between the countries in the region and they will further cooperate with other countries within the SCO framework, according to the statement.

China also promised that it would support Mongolia's participation in regional cooperation process. It would also support Mongolia's access to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Asia-Europe Meeting, the statement says.

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2005)