Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Kong Quan said Tuesday that China will reopen its embassy
in Afghanistan on February 6.
Kong, who was holding his first regular press conference as
spokesman for the ministry, said China believes the restart of the
work of the embassy will further promote Sino-Afghan
cooperation.
Vice-Foreign Minister Wang Yi will head a delegation to attend the
ceremony marking the re-opening of the embassy, which was closed in
1993 for security reasons.
China, which shares a border with Afghanistan, has already pledged
US$150 million worth of assistance to the task of rebuilding the
shattered Islamic country.
Kong called on "countries concerned'' to take actions conducive to
the maintenance of peace and stability in South Asia.
"We hope that countries in South Asia and the international
community will do more to ensure peace and stability in the
region,'' said Kong.
India test-fired an intermediate-range nuclear-capable ballistic
missile off its eastern coast last Friday, drawing concern from its
South Asian neighbor Pakistan and other countries worldwide.
US
Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill said on Monday that the United
States will resume arms sales to India with the clearance of export
licences of 20 weapons systems after nearly four decades of
sanctions.
Kong, the Foreign Ministry's new spokesman, welcomed Russian
President Vladimir Putin's signing of a federal law, which makes
last July's good-neighborly treaty of friendship and co-operation
between Russia and China a binding document to guide future
bilateral ties.
Describing the treaty as important, Kong said it sets down the
legal framework for the long-term friendship as well as providing
guidance for the development of comprehensive relations in the new
century.
The treaty, the first of its kind between China and Russia after a
1950s Sino-Soviet Union alliance pact broke up, was inked last July
when Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a state visit to
Russia.
Kong also praised a recent notice issued by Cambodian Prime
Minister Hun Sen opposing any attempt to separate Taiwan from China
and ordering that government officials should not have official
contact with Taiwan. China highly appreciates Cambodia's lasting
adherence to the one-China policy, said Kong.
The move by the Cambodian Government is conducive to the sound
development of Sino-Cambodian relations, said Kong. He added that
China is confident Cambodia will continue with its one-China policy
and support Chinese people's efforts for peaceful
reunification.
(China
Daily January 30, 2002)