Zhu made the remark in his talks with visiting Mongolian Prime Minister Nambaryn Enkhbayar, who arrived in Beijing Monday morning for a six-day official visit at Zhu's invitation.

China will continue to respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Mongolia, the premier reiterated, adding China also respects the non-nuclear status pursued by Mongolia as well as the development model chosen by the Mongolian people.

Zhu raised three points for the development of bilateral ties, namely, to continue the exchange of visits of high-ranking leaders, to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of culture and education, especially among the younger generations of the two countries, and to enhance the cooperation in international and regional affairs.

Zhu's viewpoints were hailed by Enkhbayar, who stressed that Mongolia and China share a traditional friendship, and that developing mutually beneficial ties of cooperation and friendship with China stands among the most important diplomatic policies of Mongolia.

Enkhbayar said Mongolia is willing to steadily develop bilateral relations in line with the treaty on friendly relations and cooperation signed between the two countries in 1994.

Zhu also spoke highly of the Sino-Mongolian relations. Zhu said Mongolia is one of China's important neighbors and the two countries share a borderline of 4,600 kilometers.

China has always attached importance to developing good relations with its neighbors including the relations with Mongolia, he said, stressing that keeping long-term friendship between the two countries is not only in the interests of both peoples, but also beneficial to regional peace and stability.

On the bilateral trade and economic cooperation, Zhu said since China and Mongolia are good neighbors and the economies of the two countries are complementary, there are unparalleled advantages to deepening bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

He said China is currently Mongolia's biggest trading partner and investor, but the potential for bilateral cooperation remains huge. He urged both governments to actively promote and support bilateral economic cooperation.

In the meantime, China welcomes enterprises in both countries to establish direct close ties, he noted.

Enkhbayar said he was satisfied with bilateral economic cooperation, noting Mongolia is willing to conduct comprehensive cooperation with China.

He congratulated China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), saying this facilitates the bilateral economic cooperation.

On the international and regional affairs, Enkhbayar gave account of Mongolia's stance on anti-terrorism, emphasizing the importance of dialogue and cooperation in the region.

Zhu elaborated China's position, saying China and Mongolia have reached consensus on many international issues, and the two sides could strengthen coordination and cooperation.

After the talks, Zhu and Enkhbayar attended the signing ceremony for three agreements between China and Mongolia.

Prior to the talks, Zhu held a grand welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People to honor Enkhbayar.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2002)