Updated on
Summary China will provide sincere and selfless help to Afghanistan, Hu Jintao tells Karzai.
Chinese President Hu Jintao toldhis Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on Friday that China willprovide sincere and selfless help to Afghanistan, promising tostep up trade, aid, investment and security cooperation.At present Afghanistan has entered into a criticaltransition period. China is a trustworthy neighbour and friendof Afghanistan, Hu told Karzai in central Beijings cavernousGreat Hall of the People.Both now and in the future China will continue to stayfirmly committed to our policy of developing friendly relationswith Afghanistan and will continue to provide sincere andselfless help to the Afghanistan side.Hu congratulated Karzai on Afghanistan becoming an observermember of the Beijing and Moscow-anchored Shanghai CooperationOrganization (SCO), which held its summit this week. He calledKarzai an old friend of China, according to a pool report.In the past 10 years, very fortunately, our relations havegrown in a very positive way. Relations have broadened anddeepened, Karzai said in return.The two signed a strategic partnership agreement, underwhich China said it would encourage Chinese investment, helpbuild infrastructure, grant scholarships to Afghan students andprovide 150 million yuan ($23.57 million) in aid this year.Both sides agreed to step up bilateral exchanges andcooperation in the field of security, jointly fight terrorism... and increase intelligence exchanges, said the agreement,carried by the official Xinhua news agency.China has been nervous about links between what it says aremilitants operating in its restive far western region ofXinjiang and central Asia, including Afghanistan.
