Interview: Common interests, Chinese leaders' wisdom contribute to strong China-Afghanistan ties: Karzai

Common interests and Chinese leaders' wisdom have contributed to a strong China-Afghanistan relationship, said Afghan President Hamid Karzai here on Saturday. "This visit of mine proved with great certainty that China and Afghanistan have developed a strong relationship, based on commonality of interest between the two countries. This is also very importantly (based) on the wisdom of the Chinese leaders," Karzai said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua before winding up his four-day state visit to China.

During his stay in China, the Afghan president met separately with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, and attended the 2013 Euro-Asia Economic Forum held in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. On the current bilateral ties, Karzai said: "I'm happy with this relationship. So are the Afghanistan people." China-Afghanistan relations have made steady progress over the past years. During Karzai's visit to China in 2012, the two neighboring nations established a strategic cooperative partnership. And China has provided as much aid as possible for the peaceful reconstruction in the war-battered country. Appreciating China's role in Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction, Karzai said that China is a "very stable neighbor" and has provided assistance and support to enhance stability in Afghanistan and in the rest of the region. Referring to China as Afghanistan's "very important and very wise neighbor", he said that China has "contributed significantly and in a quiet way to the peace process of Afghanistan." While conveying a message of "gratitude" for China's support, Karzai also stressed that Afghanistan will be a "trusted neighbor and partner" of China. The Afghan government has been striving to attract foreign businesses and those from China in particular to participate in the country's peaceful reconstruction. To allay concerns over security situation in Afghanistan, Karzai said that the government has taken and will adopt all necessary measures to provide Chinese investors with a favorable environment. "We are also aware it is necessary to provide security for Chinese businesses," he said. On his current visit to China, he said that it was a "full trip by all accounts".Karzai said that he exchanged views with Chinese leaders on a broad range of issues and the two sides have not only expanded bilateral ties, but also shared common views on a lot of international and regional issues. With his fifth visit to China coming to an end, Karzai said he was deeply impressed with China's long history and civilization as well as its ability to preserve it and share it with the rest of the world. China's "achievements of development" and the people's "heightened living standard" have left him with an equally deep impression, he said. "The two combined gives China a great future as you move forward," Karzai said. An ethnic Pashtun, Karzai was born in 1957. He graduated from Habibia High School in Kabul in 1976 and took a postgraduate course in political science at Himachal Pradesh University in India from 1979 to 1983. In addition to his native tongue Pashto, he is also well versed in foreign languages such as Dari, Urdu and English.