China, Afghanistan agree to strengthen ties

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the sidelines of the 2013 Euro-Asia Economic Forum in northwest China on Thursday.

China attaches great importance to its ties with Afghanistan and will continue to support the country's peace and reconstruction process, Wang said. "China will push forward assistance programs, strengthen economic and trade cooperation with Afghanistan to achieve win-win results and advance the strategic partnership between China and Afghanistan."

Karzai said his country and China are good neighbors and friends and Afghanistan is willing to learn from the experience of China's economic development and enhance all-round cooperation with China.

Wang welcomed Karzai and other foreign leaders attending the event, which began on Thursday in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Wang said he hoped the countries in the Eurasia region would continue their active participation to make the forum a platform to increase understanding and cooperation. He called on the countries to make concerted efforts to realize Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposal to build a Silk Road economic belt.

President Xi proposed during his Central Asia tour earlier this month that China and Central Asia join hands to build a Silk Road economic belt to boost cooperation.