Sun Shuopeng, head of Chinese Red Cross foreign aid medical team, speaks during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 17, 2018. China will provide free medical treatment for 25 Afghan children with congenital heart diseases, a Chinese Red Cross foreign aid medical team announced here Tuesday. (Xinhua/Dai He)

KABUL, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China will provide free medical treatment for 25 Afghan children with congenital heart diseases, a Chinese Red Cross foreign aid medical team announced here Tuesday.

"As soon as our team arrived in Kabul, we carried out screening for 150 children with congenital heart disease (CHD) to register eligible kids for providing them with free medical treatment in China," said Sun Shuopeng, head of the team.

The 25 kids, including eight girls and 17 boys, are the second group of children to be sent to China for treatment.

Under a program launched last year, China will provide free medical treatment for around 100 children suffering from CHD at the first phase in Afghanistan, according to Sun.

Out of a total of 100 patients, some 21 children had received treatment in China last year and returned home after successful surgeries.

Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Liu Jingsong said more efforts are underway to enhance people-to-people bonds, especially in the fields of health and culture between the two neighbors.

Secretary General of Afghan Red Crescent Society Nilab Mobarez thanked the Chinese delegation for their service to Afghans and expressed gratitude to China's humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.