Chinese President Hu Jintao (Right) shakes hands with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai during their meeting in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, August 15, 2007.- Xinhua

China attaches great importance to developing relations with Afghanistan and supports its reconstruction efforts, Chinese President Hu Jintao said yesterday during a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai.

China supports the Afghan government and people in choosing their country's own political system and model of development, said Hu, who was currently on a state visit to Kyrgyzstan and will later attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Central Asian country.

Since the formation of the new Afghan government under the leadership of President Karzai, cooperation between China and Afghanistan has grown steadily and bilateral ties have shown a good momentum, said Hu.

The Chinese government attaches great importance to developing the partnership of all-round cooperation with Afghanistan and is willing to remain Afghanistan's good neighbor, friend and partner forever, he said.

To help the reconstruction in the war-torn country, China will again provide 80 million yuan (about US$10.53 million) in assistance, and will carry on existing aid projects on hydro-power and medical facilities, according to Hu.

China also supports the Afghan efforts to enhance regional cooperation and is ready to continue its cooperation with Afghanistan within the framework of the SCO, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) and other organizations, the Chinese president said.

China is following closely the situation in Afghanistan and it is China's sincere hope that the country will realize peace and embark on the path of reconstruction, which will serve the fundamental interests of the Afghan people and will be conducive to peace and stability in the region and the world as a whole, Hu said.

Karzai, who was in Kyrgyzstan to attend the SCO summit as a special guest of the summit host Kyrgyzstan, thanked China for its assistance and voiced his country's readiness to promote good-neighborly relations with China and carry out cooperation in economy, trade and security.

Afghanistan is also committed to developing cooperation with the SCO, SAARC and other regional organizations, Karzai said.

The Afghan government firmly adheres to the one-China policy, Karzai stressed.

The SCO, a regional organization founded in June 2001, now groups China, Russia and Central Asia's Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.