BEIJING, June 27 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone Monday with Acting Foreign Minister of the Afghan Provisional Government Amir Khan Muttaqi.
During their exchange, Mr. Wang once again offered his sincere condolences to Afghanistan on the recent earthquake in the country, and stressed that as a neighboring country and a sincere friend of Afghanistan, the Chinese side sympathizes with the Afghan people for their current difficulties.
He pointed out that various Chinese forces, from the central government and local governments to civilian enterprises and organizations, have been working hard to provide emergency humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and help the Afghan people overcome these difficulties.
A first batch of tents, blankets and other supplies are being sent to Afghanistan on specially chartered planes, and cash and relief materials will be delivered as soon as possible. , he said.
Chinese companies in Afghanistan have also taken action, and relief supplies are on their way to the disaster area, Wang said. Noting that China is ready to provide even more aid to Afghanistan according to its needs, Wang said he believed that the Afghans could show unity to overcome the disaster and rebuild their communities as soon as possible. houses.
China’s policy toward Afghanistan is clear and consistent, and supports stability and continuity, Wang said. China has always respected Afghanistan’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also the independent choices, religious beliefs and ethnic customs of the Afghan people, he said, adding that China does not never interferes in Afghan internal affairs, and does not seek to further its own interests or expand its sphere of influence in Afghanistan.
China and Afghanistan will soon hold the second meeting of their Working Group Contact Mechanism on Humanitarian Aid and Economic Reconstruction, Wang said, hoping the two sides will steadily advance pragmatic cooperation in areas such as livelihoods, economy, trade, agriculture, mining, interconnectivity and capacity building, and will implement the consensuses reached during their bilateral meetings and the decisions taken during the multilateral meetings on Afghanistan, such as the Tunxi Initiative.
The head of Chinese diplomacy also declared that he was convinced that the Afghan side could take concrete measures to resolutely combat all terrorist forces, including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, as well as to protect and strengthen the security of institutions and Chinese citizens in Afghanistan.
Wang said China will continue to play a constructive role, support Afghanistan’s efforts to build a broad and inclusive government and exercise careful and moderate governance, uphold justice for Afghanistan in multilateral frameworks. such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), to promote early implementation of the results achieved at the Third Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Countries Neighboring Afghanistan, and to strengthen consensus between the countries of the region to contribute to the stability and reconstruction of Afghanistan.
For his part, Mr. Muttaqi sincerely thanked China for its condolences and for its help in the face of the recent disaster that struck Afghanistan. He pointed out that the Chinese aid reflects the friendship that traditionally unites the two countries, and that it has greatly benefited the Afghan victims. Afghanistan has always been determined to develop friendly relations with China in various fields, and will always adhere to the one-China political principle, he said.
Muttaqi also noted that Afghanistan fully understands China’s security concerns, and is willing to make joint efforts with China to fight terrorism. The Afghan side also hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in international frameworks such as the SCO, and hopes the Chinese side will play a leading role in Afghanistan’s peaceful reconstruction, he said. End
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