China to Continue to Support Peaceful Settlement of Afghanistan Conflict - Chinese Premier
China will continue to contribute to the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan and assist the country with the reconstruction process, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said during his meeting with Afghan Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th October, 2018) China will continue to contribute to the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan and assist the country with the reconstruction process, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said during his meeting with Afghan Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the council of the government heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe late on Friday.
"China will continue to support the efforts of Afghanistan's national unity government aimed at ensuring stability and security in the country, to contribute to the process of peaceful political settlement, which should be led by the Afghans and carried out by the Afghans themselves. Beijing is ready to continue to play a constructive role in this regard," Li said as quoted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry's official website.
Li stressed that Beijing was ready to enhance counterterrorist cooperation and promote the trilateral format of cooperation among China, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"China hopes by means of combining development strategies and intensifying business cooperation to assist with the peaceful reconstruction of the country and with the improvement of the Afghan people's living conditions, China is supporting the active participation of companies with Chinese capital in the infrastructure construction on the territory of Afghanistan," the premier said as quoted by the website.
Abdullah thanked the Chinese side for its support for the Afghan people and said that Kabul was prepared to develop cooperation with China in the spheres of economy, trade, agriculture and the fight against terrorism.
Afghanistan, which has been torn by an armed conflict between Kabul and numerous rebel and terrorist groups for decades, borders China's Xinjiang autonomous region located in the country's northwest and populated by Uyghur Muslim minority. The Uyghurs reportedly face baseless detentions and identity checks under the pretext of the fight against terrorism in the region.
Beijing denied media reports suggesting that it was planning to set up a military base in Afghanistan close to the border with the Xinjiang region and deploy its troops to the country.