Top legislator vows to further ties with Mongolia

ULAN BATOR - China's top legislator, Wu Bangguo, on Wednesday pledged to further develop ties with Mongolia during a meeting with his Mongolian counterpart Zandaakhuu Enkhbold.

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China, said bilateral relations have entered a new stage of development since China and Mongolia established a strategic partnership in 2011.

He put forward a four-point proposal to further ties:

Politically, Wu said China and Mongolia should strengthen their strategic mutual trust, continue to support each other on issues concerning their core interests, and carry out close cooperation in law enforcement and in the field of non-traditional security.

Economically, Wu said, the two countries should deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in such areas as mining, infrastructure construction and finance.

Culturally, the two countries, Wu said, should intensify people-to-people exchanges in a bid to strengthen mutual understanding and consolidate their traditional friendship.

China and Mongolia also should beef up their cooperation on multilateral issues, Wu said, and support each other in global and regional issues while safeguarding their common interests.

In addition, Wu said the NPC and the State Great Hural of Mongolia, the two countries' parliaments, have carried out close and friendly exchanges. He said that he hopes that they can further strengthen communications at all levels.

For his part, Enkhbold, chairman of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, pledged to push forward cooperation with China in the fields of politics, trade and economy, and humanity, and in global and regional issues.

Wu arrived in Mongolia on Wednesday for a three-day tour, the first Chinese top legislator to visit the country in 16 years.