Chinese, Afghan presidents pledge joint efforts to promote ties

BISHKEK - Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Afghan counterpart, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, met here Thursday, pledging joint efforts to promote bilateral relations.

Xi congratulated Afghanistan on the 100th anniversary of its independence and wished the country an early restoration of peace, stability and development.

China and Afghanistan are neighbors that enjoy traditional friendship and strategic partnership of cooperation, Xi said.

China is willing to deepen the mutually beneficial cooperation with Afghanistan in various sectors within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), steadily promote practical cooperation in economy and trade, and support the two countries' enterprises to strengthen cooperation based on the principles of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, he said.

Xi said China will, as always, continue to help Afghanistan build its capacity in fighting terrorism and maintaining stability.

He called on the Afghan side to continue to firmly support China in its fight against the terrorist force of East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

The Chinese side firmly supports a comprehensive and inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, and will continue to actively encourage and promote talks through various channels to help the Afghan people achieve internal dialogue, Xi said.

China supports Afghanistan and Pakistan to improve relations, enhance mutual trust and carry out cooperation, and is ready to further promote the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan trilateral cooperation, he said.

Ghani conveyed congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

By proposing to build a community with a shared future for mankind and supporting the economic globalization, China has set an example of promoting the construction of a new type of international relations in the 21st century, Ghani said.

Ghani thanked China for the active role it has played in his country's peace process and in safeguarding regional peace and stability, adding that Afghanistan is committed to fighting, side by side with China, against the "three forces" including the ETIM.

Afghanistan stands ready to align its plan of reconstruction and development with the BRI and set up an even closer trade and economic partnership with China, Ghani added.