Companies from China and Mongolia signed agreements in Beijing on Thursday with a total value of almost 100 million U.S. dollars.

Five cooperation agreements coving real estate and machinery equipment were signed at a China-Mongolia business Forum.

The forum was co-organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI).

China will attract more direct foreign investment by opening its markets wider, said Mongolian Prime Minister Miegombyn Enkhbold, who is on a six-day official visit to China.

China's rapid economic growth would have a favorable influence on Mongolia's economy, Enkhbold said at the forum.

Enkhbold held talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday, and the two vowed to push forward economic and trade cooperation in the key areas of infrastructure and energy exploration, with cooperation on the construction of power stations, roads and railways in Mongolia.

China has been the largest trade partner of Mongolia since 1999 and the largest investor country for the past eight years.

Bilateral trade hit 1.13 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of 2006, up 88.8 percent over the same period of last year.

China and Mongolia were expected to expand collaboration on husbandry, mining and natural resources, said Zhang Wei, vice chairman of the CCPIT.

Source: Xinhua