The spokeswoman said that China has been concerned about the development of the situation in Afghanistan, and it supports all measures that could realize national reconciliation in Afghanistan.

Efforts of international community encouraged

The international community should direct and encourage all parties in Afghanistan to conduct political dialogue, accelerate the political process of resolving the Afghan issue and help the country establish a broad-based transitional government, Zhang said.

She noted that China would consider all proposals that are helpful to the peace, stability and neutrality of Afghanistan and are in the interests of the Afghan people.

China's stand on the Afghan issue

Zhang reiterated China's stand on the Afghan issue that the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan should be safeguarded; the Afghan people should be able to decide on the solution to their problem independently; the future Afghan government should be broad-based, represent the interests of all ethnic groups in the country and develop good relations with other countries, especially Afghanistan's neighboring countries; and the United Nations should play a role in this regard.

The international community, the United Nations in particular, should step up the effort to resolve the Afghan issue, which involves both setting up a transitional government and starting to reconstruct the country as soon as possible, she said.

"We hold that at such a critical moment, the United Nations should join various countries to offer political, technical and economic assistance to Afghanistan," she said.

"After Afghanistan resumes stability, we will actively make efforts to help the Afghan people rebuild their country," stressed the spokeswoman.

(People?s Daily November 16, 2001)