China will provide emergency humanitarian aid worth 30 million yuan ($US3.6 million) to the Afghan interim government.
President Jiang Zemin made the announcement during his meeting with visiting Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Thursday.
According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jiang also promised that China will actively participate in the reconstruction of war-ravaged Afghanistan once its political situation is calmer.
As agreed upon by the different factions in Afghanistan in a recent meeting in Bonn, an Afghan interim government will be set up tomorrow.
Describing the upcoming regime as a beginning for peace and stability in Afghanistan, Jiang said China hopes that various factions of Afghanistan will carry out the relevant agreements and help bring about a national reconciliation.
Jiang said that the Afghan people have the final say concerning the fate of their country.
He also stressed the role of the United Nations (UN) in resolving the Afghan issue, saying that China supports the UN in this effort.
He added that China supports efforts by Pakistan, an important neighbour of Afghanistan, to play an active role in achieving peace in Afghanistan.
Musharraf, expressing his government's satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting in Bonn, said he hoped for an early conclusion to the military action in Afghanistan, according to the Chinese spokesman.
Musharraf listed two priorities: Helping Afghan refugees and ensuring that the interim Afghan government will have adequate power to guarantee that the transitional government to be set up six months later will be more balanced in representing the different ethnic groups in Afghanistan.
Musharraf's visit coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
At Thursday's meeting, both leaders spoke highly of bilateral ties and pledged to carry on with their friendship.
Hailing the Sino-Pakistani friendship as "all-weather,'' Jiang characterized the bilateral ties as sincere, friendly, trusty and reciprocally co-operative.
He attributed the good relations to their respect of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence.
Good Sino-Pakistani relations are in the strategic interests of both countries and contribute to peace in the region and world at large, Jiang said.
Echoing Jiang's comments on bilateral ties, Musharraf highlighted the development of comprehensive co-operation with China as the cornerstone of his government's foreign policy.
Jiang told Musharraf that as Pakistan's neighbour, China will continue to back Pakistan in its efforts to maintain stability and development as well as to promote regional peace and prosperity.
In addition, Jiang expressed China's willingness to expand economic ties with Pakistan, saying that the Chinese Government will continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in Pakistan and provide its neighbour with help within its capability.
China and Pakistan then signed seven agreements pledging closer economic and technical cooperation.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2001)
