BISHKEK, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao said here Wednesday that China is ready to work together with Mongolia to push forward the partnership of good-neighborliness and mutual trust between the two countries.

Hu made the remarks when meeting Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar in the Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishkek.

As neighbors, China and Mongolia hold great potential for developing bilateral relations, said President Hu, who arrived in the Central Asian country on Tuesday for a two-day state visit and a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit slated for Thursday.

The two countries should maintain the momentum of exchanges of high-level visits and enhance contacts between their legislative bodies, government organs and political parties, Hu said.

The two sides should deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and continue to take development of natural resources and infrastructure construction as key areas for cooperation, he said.

The Chinese government will, as always, encourage top Chinese companies to carry out mutually beneficial cooperation with their Mongolian counterparts, Hu said.

Humanistic and cultural exchanges will be further expanded and efforts will be made to implement the consensus on such fields as tourism, environmental protection and disaster prevention, he said.

China will also strengthen cooperation with Mongolia within multilateral frameworks and on regional and international issues, he said.

Enkhbayar, hailing the development of ties with China, noted that China is the top trading partner of Mongolia and China's aid is important for his country's economic development.

Mongolia hopes to enhance cooperation with China in large projects in such areas as infrastructure construction, transportation, energy and mining. The two sides can also expand cooperation on issues concerning Northeastern Asia and the Asian-Pacific region, as well as within the framework of the SCO, he said.

Enkhbayar will attend the SCO summit as observer of the regional organization.