China respects Afghan people's wishes and choices: Foreign Ministry spokeswoman

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday that China respects the Afghan people's wishes and choices.

Hua said the war in Afghanistan has lasted for more than 40 years and to stop the war and realize peace is the voice of over 30 million Afghan people, and also the aspiration of the international community and regional countries.

The Chinese side has noticed the statement from the Afghanistan Taliban, which declared that war is over in the country and said that they will hold talks aimed at forming an "open, inclusive Islamic government" and take responsible actions to ensure the safety of Afghan citizens and the foreign diplomatic corps there, Hua said.

"We hope that the commitments will be implemented to ensure a steady transition of the situation in Afghanistan and contain all kinds of terrorism and crimes so that the Afghans can get away from the war and rebuild their beautiful homeland," Hua said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

The spokeswoman said the Chinese embassy in Kabul remains operational and all staff are at their posts.

While the embassy has arranged for most Chinese nationals in Afghanistan to leave for China, some are voluntarily staying there and the embassy is maintaining close contact with them, she said.

"They are all safe at the moment," Hua said.

According to the spokeswoman, China has been maintaining contact and communications with Afghan Taliban on the basis of fully respecting Afghanistan's national sovereignty and the will of all parties in the country.

Last month, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with a visiting delegation led by head of the Afghan Taliban Political Commission Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tianjin.

"We hope all factions and ethnic groups in Afghanistan will unite as one and establish a broad and inclusive political structure that suits Afghanistan's national realities, so as to lay the foundation for realizing enduring peace," Hua said.

She also said the Afghan Taliban has repeatedly expressed their hope to develop good relations with China and expected China to participate in the country's reconstruction and development, and said it will never allow any forces to use the country to harm China.

"We welcome this. China respects the right of the Afghan people to independently determine their own destiny and is willing to continue to develop friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan," she said.