NEW YORK / BEIJING - One day after United States President Barack Obama announced the start of troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China hoped the US would act responsibly during the withdrawal and help Afghanistan enhance its security capability.

"It has been China's consistent stance that the independence and sovereignty of Afghanistan should be respected. We have noted President Obama's withdrawal plan and hope the US safeguards a peaceful and stable transition," Hong said at a regular news briefing on Thursday.

Obama said he would pull 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, followed by about 23,000 more by the end of next summer and continue with a steady withdrawal of remaining troops thereafter.

The withdrawal, Obama said, signals the beginning of the end of the war that began shortly after Sept 11, 2001. The US and its allies have agreed to turn over security responsibility to the Afghans by 2014.

Ye Hailin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the future of US-Afghan ties is still hard to predict as there are so many unknown factors in the withdrawal plan.

"How many soldiers are they going to withdraw, and can the plan be implemented as scheduled, are questions that really matter," Ye said.

Li Qinggong, deputy secretary of the China Council for National Security Policy Studies, believes Obama's decision is aimed at appeasing anti-war sentiment at the core of his base and to increase his chances in next year's presidential election.

"The political significance has outweighed the military significance," Li said.

China Daily