BEIJING - China and Mongolia have decided to upgrade their bilateral ties from a good-neighbor partnership of mutual trust to a strategic partnership, according to a joint statement from the two nations.

"To further advance the good-neighbor friendship and mutually-beneficial cooperation between China and Mongolia, the two sides have decided to upgrade to a strategic partnership," according to a joint statement signed on Thursday and released on Friday.

The statement was signed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Mongolian counterpart Sukhbaatar Batbold. At the invitation of Wen, Batbold is making his first official visit to China since taking office in 2009 from Wednesday to Friday.

In 2003, President Hu Jintao paid a visit to Mongolia and both sides decided to establish the good-neighbor partnership of mutual trust.

The two sides are satisfied with the development of the bilateral ties over the past years, the statement said.

"As China and Mongolia are friendly neighbors sharing a long border, to consolidate and deepen continuously the friendly relations conforms with the common interests of the two states and their people, as well as helps to promote peace, stability and development in the region," it said.

In the statement, China and Mongolia pledged to increase their political communication and boost mutual trust between the two countries in order to build a more solid political foundation for the strategic partnership.

"The two sides believe that high-level interaction is of special significance for the development of bilateral ties," the statement said, adding that the two countries will keep the momentum of exchanges between their leaders to "boost strategic communication" as well as step up cooperation between their parliaments, governments and political parties.

The two neighbors also vowed to work together to fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and other cross-border organized crime, as well as cooperation on dealing with natural disasters and infectious diseases.

The statement says China and Mongolia will expand their economic cooperation with a view to common prosperity, which will provide a long-lasting driving force for the development of the strategic partnership.

The two sides reiterated that priority will be given to natural resources and infrastructure in their economic cooperation.

China and Mongolia are also committed to people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, which act as essential grassroots support for the bilateral strategic partnership, according to the statement.

In the statement, the two countries also pledged to coordinate their stances and support each other in regional and international affairs to safeguard their common interests as well as enrich the strategic partnership.

"The two sides hold that they improve mutual trust and coordination in international and regional affairs, resolve disputes through dialogue and consultation, and make joint efforts to forge a more just, democratic and rational international political and economic order," the statement said.