China to further support Afghanistan

[1st row] German Chancellor Angela Merkel (9th L) poses with Afghan President Hamid Karzai (6th R), UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon (8th L), US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (7th L), EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton (6th L), Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (5th L) for a family picture at the start of the Afghanistan Conference on December 5, 2011, in Bonn, Germany. [Xinhua/AFP]

China would provide further support in accordance with its own capacity in light of the Afghan needs, said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Monday.

 

Recognizing the achievements of Afghan people in the past decade, Yang noted that the country still faces a number of challenges and thereby called on the international community to continue to meet its responsibilities and honor its commitments to Afghanistan.

Yang made the remarks at an International conference on Afghanistan held in Bonn, Germany.

Yang stressed that the future of Afghanistan depends on the Afghan people, adding that the international community should respect Afghanistan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

According to Yang, the international community should firmly support Afghanistan in capacity building so that it can take over the responsibility of safeguarding national peace and stability as early as possible.

The international community should also help Afghanistan in advancing reconciliation through its own efforts, while continue to honor its commitments and provide support and assistance to bolster Afghanistan's capacity for sustainable development.

Furthermore, the international community should support Afghanistan in external relations on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, especially enhancing relations with neighboring countries and mutual political trust with other countries in the region.

"The international community should fully respect and accommodate the legitimate concerns of countries in the regions, and we should support the United Nations in continuing to play a leading role in coordinating international assistance to Afghanistan," Yang said.

The role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other existing international organizations and cooperation mechanisms should be brought into full play, Yang added.

China has played an active part in supporting and promoting Afghanistan's reconstruction process and provided sincere assistance to Afghanistan, said the minister.

Yang reiterated that China would continue to support the reconstruction in Afghanistan with concrete efforts, as China has undertaken programs covering transport, energy exploration and infrastructure construction in the country.

The 2011 Bonn conference, hosted by Germany and chaired by the Afghan President Karzai, is aimed at "mobilizing the international community in support of Afghanistan, and that beyond 2014," when international combat troops are due to leave the war-torn country.