Afghanistan wants China to open its border in a bid to combat terrorism, Rangin Dadfar Spanta, the Afghan foreign minister, said yesterday.

During a speech in Beijing at the China Institute of International Studies, Spanta said "a triangle of terrorism" - his country's major challenge –"presents existential threats not only to Afghanistan but also to the region and the world's peace and stability".

He said the "triangle" comprised Al-Qaida, the Taliban and external support.

"As such, the solution must be comprehensive, regional and international," he said, noting his "personal wish, which is opening the Vakhan Corridor between Afghanistan and China".

Spanta is on a three-day visit to China that ends today.

China shares a 76-km border with Afghanistan in the Vakhan, a narrow strip of Afghan territory between Pakistan and Tajikistan.

A senior US official said in March that NATO might ask China to support the war effort and that a "possible way" for Beijing to contribute would be to open an alternative logistics route through western China into Afghanistan.

Chinese experts said it is highly unlikely that Beijing would agree to such a request.

"From the geographic point of view, there's no benefit to the fight against terrorism even if it is open," said Fu Xiaoqiang, a senior researcher on South Asian studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

The corridor lies deep in the mountains and is only accessible by camel during a few months of the year.

Peng Guangqian, a Beijing-based military strategist, said further discussions were needed on China's anti-terror cooperation.

An ideal way should be "effective", but "not harming China's national security", Peng said.

(China Daily June 11, 2009)