China urges international community to respect Afghanistan's political independence

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese diplomat to the UN on Wednesday urged the international community to respect the sovereignty and political independence of Afghanistan when the country holds a planned presidential election in 2014.

Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the call while addressing an open meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan.

Wang said that the presidential election in 2014 is a key element in the Afghan political process. China welcomes the time framework of the election defined by the Afghan government.

The United Nations has rich electoral expertise and experiences. China welcomes the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) providing electoral assistance to Afghanistan as required by the government, said Wang.

The realization of lasting peace and security in Afghanistan is still faced with challenges. China welcomes the efforts made by Afghanistan in strengthening the capacity of its security forces and gradually shouldering the responsibility of maintaining national security and stability, the Chinese envoy noted.

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