The agreement says China and Kyrgyzstan will support each other in this field, strengthen coordination in maintaining national security and peace and stability in the region.

During the talks, Tang said that since the two countries established full diplomatic ties ten years ago, mutual political trust, cooperation and traditional friendship had grown.

He said in the framework of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and other international and regional organizations, China and Kyrgyzstan fully understood each other's interests and concerns, and supported and cooperated with each other on major international and regional issues.

China valued Kyrgyzstan's consistent support on issues like Taiwan and the fight against East Turkistan terrorist and separatist forces, Tang said, adding that China would continue to support Kyrgyzstan in safeguarding its sovereignty and national security and in economic development.

Tang said the development of China-Kyrgyzstan ties was China's established policy and President Jiang Zemin had noted in his report to the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that "we will continue to cement our friendly ties with our neighbors and persist in building a good-neighborly relationship and partnership with them".

The good-neighbor, friendship and cooperation pact signed last June by President Jiang and his Kyrgyzstan counterpart, Askar Akayev, had become a guiding document for the healthy and stable development of bilateral ties, Tang said.

He said China, together with Kyrgyzstan, would endeavor to enhance bilateral ties.

Tang said SCO cooperation had deepened and the SCO has become more important in regional and international affairs.

Tang said China and Kyrgyzstan had enjoyed good and close cooperation in the SCO framework and he hoped that the two sides continue to strengthen communication and coordination.

Aitmatov said China was one of Kyrgyzstan's traditionally friendly neighbors and Kyrgyzstan-China relations enjoyed priority in its foreign policy.

He said the two countries had the same or similar views on major international issues and he believed bilateral cooperative ties would develop.

The two sides also discussed other regional and international issues of common concern.

Aitmatov, who arrived in China on Tuesday, is visiting at Tang's invitation.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2002)