?Photo taken on Sept. 19, 2019 shows the scene of a symposium to mark the 70th anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. Afghanistan's former national security adviser and ex-foreign minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta said on Thursday that Afghans want China to enhance its efforts for ending the war and bringing peace in the war-torn country. "We hope that the People's Republic of China (PRC) increases its efforts for bringing a stable and venerable peace in Afghanistan," Spanta told a symposium here at a local hotel to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC. (Xinhua/Rahmatullah Alizadah)
KABUL, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's former national security adviser and ex-foreign minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta said on Thursday that Afghans want China to enhance its efforts for ending the war and bringing peace in the war-torn country.
"We hope that the People's Republic of China (PRC) increases its efforts for bringing a stable and venerable peace in Afghanistan," Spanta told a symposium here at a local hotel to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC.
Without naming any country, the former Afghan foreign minister in his speech blamed proxy wars for his country's lingering crisis and stated, "We are hopeful that China will help Afghanistan to end the proxy wars and bring about peace in this country."
Launching the Belt and Road Initiative can bring many opportunities for the development of the region including Afghanistan, the former Afghan official said.
Spanta, in his speech at the ceremony organized by Afghanistan-China Friendship Association, termed the two nations as friendly neighbors and called for boosting relations in all fields including trade, economy and culture.
"China is a very benevolent neighbor of us; this neighborhood has never seen any tensions during consecutive eras," Spanta said, adding that bilateral relations of the two nations are based on cooperation, mutual trust and good neighborhood.
Speaking at the symposium, Charge d'Affairs of the Chinese embassy in Afghanistan Wang Daxue pointed out that "China and Afghanistan enjoy a long-standing friendship" and the two countries have had frequent diplomatic and commercial exchanges since ancient times.
Over the past 40 years, China has lifted over 850 million people out of poverty, contributing more than 70 percent to global poverty reduction, said Wang. In 1952, China's economic aggregate was only 30.4 billion U.S. dollars, and that number exceeded 13 trillion U.S. dollars in 2018, he added.
The Chinese diplomat expressed support to the Afghan peace process and noted that Beijing supports an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, and it has been working towards negotiations through bilateral and multilateral channels with a view to facilitating internal talks among Afghans.