Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan said Friday that the relations between China and neighboring Afghanistan have entered a new stage of development.

Speaking to visiting Afghan Vice Defense Minister Mohammad Hamayon Fawzi and his party, Cao noted that bilateral exchange and cooperation in the political and economic spheres have been restored rapidly and carried out smoothly ever since the new Afghan government was established.

Cao, also vice-chairman of the Chinese Central Military Commission and state councilor, expressed the wish that joint efforts be made to write a new chapter of friendship between the two countries and their armies.

Noting that China is a true friend of Afghanistan, Fawzi said that China has always respected its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He voiced the wish that more friendly contact be conducted between the two armies so as to further promote the development of good-neighborly, friendly relations between the two countries.

(Xinhua News Agency October 15, 2005)