China’s special envoy to attend meeting on Afghanistan in Washington

BEIJING: China’s special envoy of the Afghan Affairs, Deng Xijun will attend the forthcoming meeting on Afghanistan to be held in Washington, Spokesperson of Chinese foreign ministry Geng Shuang Thursday said.

“China supports Afghanistan in advancing the process of peace and reconciliation and attaining long-term national peace and reconstruction,” he said during his regular briefing held here.

The Chinese side had been in close communication with the United States (US), Russia and other stakeholders on the relevant issues, he added.

The US special representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, Russia's presidential envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, China’s special envoy Deng Xijun; and the European Union's special envoy Roland Kobia will attend the meeting.

Geng Shuang also expressed condolences to Mozambique's recent severe tropical cyclone disaster which caused heavy casualties and property losses.

He hoped that the injured would recover soon and the victims would return to their homes as soon as possible. “President Xi Jinping has sent a message of condolences to the President of Mozambique.”

The spokesperson remarked that Mozambique was China's traditional friendly country and comprehensive strategic partner in Africa.

“The Chinese government is willing to provide necessary support and assistance for Mozambique's disaster relief within the limits of its ability,” he added.

He informed that there was no news of casualties of Chinese citizens during the cyclone in Mozambique.

Responding to a report that an Indian company planned to invest $3.85 billion to build a refinery near the port of Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka where China and Sri Lanka build an important cooperation project under the framework of “One Belt, One Road”, he said China and Sri Lanka have carried out extensive and in-depth cooperation in many fields and achieved tangible results.

He said the Hambantota Port project was a vivid example of the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Sri Lanka.

Through such cooperation, China had helped promote the economic and social development of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka had always expressed its appreciation and gratitude for this cooperation, he added.