China calls for revival of Afghan peace talks

ISLAMABAD - China has called on all parties concerned to play an active role in Afghanistan's peace and reconstruction, and China also hopes that the Afghan government will stay in the course of holding peace talks with the Taliban, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Speaking to the media on the just-concluded ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process on peace in Afghanistan on Wednesday, Wang described the conference a success which witnessed the passage of the Islamabad declaration, with all relevant parties making new commitments.

More importantly, the relevant parties have held intensive contacts availing the opportunity of the multi-lateral conference, Wang said, adding that his delegation had held meetings with foreign ministers and delegates of various participating countries.

Specifically, China held a three-party meeting with Pakistan and Afghanistan, and on the basis of it, a two-plus-two four-party meeting was also held, including the United States, to discuss the Afghan peace issue, Wang noted.

China wishes to send the following three explicit signals to the international community after the meeting, Wang said.

Firstly, China calls on all parties concerned to actively participate in Afghanistan's peace and reconstruction and help revive the country's economic development at an earliest date and improve the life of the Afghan people.

Secondly, China wishes all sides could support the domestic reconciliation process in Afghanistan, specifically the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

China calls for the early resumption of the peace talks in Afghanistan. The talks had been held successfully once. But the mechanism has been suspended due to various reasons.

China wishes the Afghan government could stay in the course of holding peace talks with the Taliban, and China is ready to continue to facilitate and help build a platform for the revival of the reconciliation process.

China believes Pakistan can play its unique role in promoting such talks, and the United States, another important player, can also play an active and constructive role in this regard on the basis of respecting the sovereignty of Afghanistan and the will of various factions in the war-torn country.

Thirdly, China calls on all sides concerned to jointly fight terrorism in any forms and participate in anti-terror operations according to international laws to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.

The region-led dialogue, formally known as the "Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process," was launched in November 2011 in Istanbul to expand practical coordination between Afghanistan and its neighbors and regional partners in facing common threats such as terrorism, extremism, narcotics and poverty.

The participating countries are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates.