BEIJING: The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson on Thursday said that Afghanistan and Pakistan were traditional friendly neighbours of China and believed that the two countries could properly resolve their respective concerns through dialogue and consultations.

“Afghanistan and Pakistan are both traditional friendly neighbours of China. We believe that the two countries can properly resolve their respective concerns through dialogue and consultation, and jointly maintain regional peace and stability,” Wang Wenbin said during his regular briefing held here.

In response to the experts’ claim that the recent incident along Pak-Afghan border caused a setback for the Afghan interim government’s efforts to seek international recognition, as well as China’s efforts to engage with the Afghan interim government, he said, ‘The so-called ‘experts’ you quoted are completely deliberately slanderous words without impartiality or professionalism.”

When asked to comment over the recent incident and related retaliatory remarks, he said, “We believe that Pakistan and Afghanistan can properly resolve their respective concerns through dialogue and consultation, and jointly maintain regional peace and stability.”