China ready to expand ties across a range of fields with Afghanistan

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China is willing to expand cooperation across a wide range of fields with Afghanistan, while expressing the hope the country will resolutely combat terrorist forces to remove obstacles in deepening bilateral relations, during a meeting with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Wang arrived on Wednesday in Kabul for a visit to Afghanistan and this is his first visit to the country in over three years.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Afghanistan.

During the talks, Wang said China is ready to strengthen political trust and enhance exchanges and cooperation with Afghanistan in areas including trade, agriculture, poverty reduction, water resources, connectivity, and cultural exchanges.

The move aims to deliver greater benefits to both countries and peoples as well as make new contributions to peace, stability and development in the region, he added.

China pursues a friendly policy toward all Afghan people and will continue to support the Afghan government in ensuring sound governance, prioritizing development, resolutely combating terrorism, and fostering good-neighborly relations to achieve lasting peace and stability, Wang said.

Highlighting the link between security and development, he called on Afghanistan to continue making all-out efforts to crack down on the East Turkistan Islamic Movement terrorist group, so as to remove obstacles and inject fresh impetus into the deepening of China-Afghanistan relations.

For his part, Muttaqi expressed gratitude to China for its valuable support in opposing external interference in Afghanistan, saying that friendship with China is a cornerstone of Afghanistan's foreign policy.

He pledged that Afghanistan stands ready to deepen bilateral ties on the basis of equality and mutual respect, strengthen exchanges at all levels, and establish a regular dialogue mechanism on trade and economic issues to advance practical cooperation and deliver more mutually beneficial outcomes.

Muttaqi reiterated that Afghanistan will never allow any individual or force to use Afghan territory to engage in activities harmful to China, and expressed willingness to strengthen security and counterterrorism cooperation with China to jointly safeguard lasting peace and stability in the region.