Mongolian Prime Minister Sanj Bayar (front L) meets with Zhang Gaoli (front R), chief of the Communist Party of China's Tianjin Municipal Committee, in north China's Tianjin Municipality, April 15, 2009. (Xinhua/Liu Haifeng) Photo Gallery>>>

    TIANJIN, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia and Tianjin, a municipality in northern China, signed a memorandum on deepening economic cooperation here on Wednesday, pledging to strengthen economic ties and expand the fields of cooperation.

    Zhang Gaoli, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and party chief of Tianjin, when meeting with visiting Mongolian Prime Minister Sanj Bayar, said that Tianjin and Mongolia had maintained cooperative relations and it was willing to deepen cooperation in more fields.

Delegates from China's Tianjin Municipality and Mongolian transportation and construction department sign a trade cooperation memoire in north China's Tianjin Municipality, April 15, 2009. Mongolian Prime Minister Sanj Bayar's delegation visited Tianjin Municipality on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Liu Haifeng) Photo Gallery>>>

    Zhang said, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between China and Mongolia. "We are ready to take this opportunity to enhance bilateral friendly exchanges."

    Bayar echoed Zhang by saying that he believed his visit to China would help strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation.

    Statistics from the municipal government of Tianjin show that the trade volume between Tianjin and Mongolia surged 47.5 percent year on year to 61 million U.S. dollars in 2008.

Delegates from China's Tianjin Municipality and Mongolian transportation and construction department shake hands after signing a trade cooperation memoire in north China's Tianjin Municipality, April 15, 2009. Xinhua/Liu Haifeng) Photo Gallery>>>

    Bayar said that Mongolia hoped to draw on the experience of Tianjin in ocean transportation and port management, intensify cooperation in infrastructure construction and mining and expand personnel exchanges.

    Bayar kicked off his China tour on Tuesday and is scheduled to attend the 2009 meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia from April 17 to 19.