BEIJING — Premier Li Keqiang met with Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene via video link on Oct 12.

Noting that China and Mongolia are close neighbors with sound relations, Premier Li said both countries face tasks of handling the COVID-19 pandemic, developing their economies and guaranteeing people's livelihoods.

Enhancing cooperation between the two countries benefits not only China and Mongolia, but also the region, he added.

Premier Li said China stands ready to enhance cooperation with Mongolia to strengthen development strategy synergy, explore cooperation in key areas, expand bilateral trade, and facilitate port clearance and increase port throughput under the premise of effective pandemic prevention and control.

China hopes the two countries will further implement cooperation in preventing and curbing desertification to jointly build a clean and beautiful environment, the premier said.

China will, as it always has, support Mongolia to develop its economy, improve its people's livelihoods and fight COVID-19, Premier Li said.

He stressed that energy security is a matter that concerns national interests and people's livelihoods.

Though possessing abundant coal resources, China is willing to carry out diversified energy cooperation, Premier Li said, adding that China welcomes a larger volume of coal trading between the two countries to achieve win-win results.

Premier Li said China encourages and supports enterprises from the two countries to actively carry out cooperation in line with market principles and business rules, and ensure a smooth and safe energy supply chain with reasonable and stable prices in the long term.

Noting that Mongolia and China have a shared future, Oyun-Erdene commended China's neighborhood diplomacy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness.

Oyun-Erdene thanked China for providing COVID-19 vaccines to Mongolia and said the cooperation between the two countries in the fight against the pandemic has set a model for the international community.

He expressed the hope that the two sides will strengthen cooperation in the fields of minerals, infrastructure construction, and desertification prevention and control, and that the two sides will increase their port clearance volume and promote the greater development of bilateral relations.