The Chinese government has decided to provide one million yuan worth of aid to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the proper settlement of Afghan refugees, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The Red Cross Society of China will also provide assistance to the Afghan refugees through the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, according to the Ministry.

China's Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan sent notification letters about the decision Sunday to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw, and Louis Michel, foreign minister of Belgium which holds the current European Union presidency.

Tang said in the letters that China has been watching the related developments closely and is sympathetic to the plight of the Afghan refugees.

The Chinese government calls on the international community to share the responsibility of providing more aid to Pakistan and other neighboring countries of Afghanistan, who are helping settle a great number of Afghan refugees, so that the issue of Afghan refugees can be handled appropriately, Tang said.

(People's Daily 10/02/2001)