‘China willing to maintain close liaison with Japan’
BEIJING, China – China has welcomed the signing of this agreement between the US and Taliban, which Beijing believes will act as ‘seed for peace’.
Zhao Lijian, the spokesman of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made these remarks at a media briefing here on Monday. he said China has played a positive role in promoting a political settlement of the Afghan issue.
“China firmly supports a broad and inclusive peace and reconciliation process that is ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned’. We hope that the agreement between the US and the Taliban will enable the ‘seed of peace’ to take root in Afghanistan. Foreign troops should withdraw in an orderly and responsible way so that the situation in Afghanistan will experience a steady transition with no security vacuum for terrorist forces to seize upon and expand themselves,” he said.
Meanwhile, he added, the international community should continue to support and engage in the Afghan peace and reconstruction process.
“China calls on the Taliban and other parties in Afghanistan to act upon this opportunity and launch intra-Afghan negotiations at an early date so that they can together make political and security plans that are acceptable to all and contribute to the realization of enduring peace and stability in Afghanistan. China stands ready to work with the international community and continue to offer our support and assistance to the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan”.
He said the Afghan government and the US have signed a joint declaration in Kabul on the US-Taliban peace deal that the representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in Afghanistan, including the Chinese side, and some international and regional organizations attended the signing ceremony upon invitation.
“China consistently and firmly supports a broad and inclusive peace and reconciliation process that is ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned’. We support the Afghan government, the Taliban and other parties in Afghanistan in launching and advancing their intra-Afghan negotiations at an early date. China will continue to be a supporter, mediator and facilitator of the Afghan peace and reconciliation process and play a constructive role on the basis of respecting the wishes of all parties in Afghanistan,” he said.
Responding to another question about China-Japan ties, Zhao said China is willing to maintain close communications with Japan and make all-around preparations to create favorable conditions and a good atmosphere for President Xi Jinping’s state visit, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
when asked whether Beijing and Tokyo had reached agreement over the visit, scheduled to take place during spring this year.
“Now the China-Japan relationship has maintained the positive momentum of development. Xi’s state visit to Japan will be of great significance,” Zhao said, adding that the two sides are maintaining close communication.
According to the spokesman, China stands ready to work with Japan in implementing the important consensus reached between the leaders of both countries, respecting each other and seeking common ground while reserving differences.
The two sides will jointly promote the building of a China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era, he said.
Zhao also said that as they face the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, China and Japan have stood together and provided mutual assistance amid the difficulties, which has injected new impetus into the friendship between the two countries.
Last year, Xi accepted in principle Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s invitation, made during their meeting in Osaka on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, to pay a state visit to Japan in the spring. It will be the first state visit to Japan by a Chinese president since 2008.
Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, ended a two-day visit to Japan on Saturday.
When meeting with Yang, Abe said that Xi’s visit is extremely important and the Japanese side will be well-prepared to ensure that it will be a complete success.
In 2018, Abe made an official visit to China, the first of its kind by a Japanese prime minister in seven years. He paid another visit to China last December.
