China calls for economic help for Afghanistan

The international community must "make good on its commitment" to support Afghanistan's economic development, said China's deputy permanent representative to the UN.

On China's part, the One Belt, One Road project of trade initiatives along the Silk Road region has helped promote Afghan economic development and regional cooperation, and it is now "hoped that all parties can jointly promote" the project to assist Afghanistan's social and economic progress, said Wu Haitao on Friday at a UN Security Council meeting about the Middle Eastern nation.

The international community must also "invest heavily" in supporting Afghanistan's national security and defense forces, enhancing its self-defense capability to better respond to threats of terrorism, transnational crimes, and narcotics smuggling, he said.

It must also promote reconciliation in the country and support an Afghan-led process for all parties to join peace talks, Wu said, referring to talks with insurgency leaders that could potentially reach a political settlement and put an end to fighting.

"On matters of Afghanistan it is the Afghanistan people who have the final say. The international community must truly respect the right of the people in independently choosing political systems," he said, "and development path and at the same time on the basis of the national development strategy and specific needs, assist the government in enhancing its administrative capability in a targeted way."

According to the UN Security Council, the overall security situation in Afghanistan has continued to deteriorate over the last year and into 2017, with a record 23,712 security instances in 2016, up 5 percent compared to the year before.

The Security Council on Wednesday condemned a terrorist attack on a military hospital in Kabul, which ISIS claimed responsibility for carrying out.

"For generations, China and Afghanistan have been good friends and close neighbors. China looks forward to early fulfillment of peace, security, stability, and development. China will continue to support Afghanistan in enhancing its security capacity building and combating terrorism," Wu said.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com