"China is moving fast and has acted in a timely and correct way, providing us with emergency aid as well as cash," said Abdullah in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"I mentioned this on a number of occasions just a few days ago when I participated in an Afghanistan-US summit on reconstruction at Georgetown University, I mentioned the example of China," said Abdullah.

He said Afghanistan is awaiting the arrival of a technical team from China to survey an irrigation project in Parwan Province and other projects.

When answering a question about China's role in Afghanistan's reconstruction, Abdullah said China will play a key role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and that future trade between the two countries is expected to grow.

China can play an important role in the reconstruction of the country, and also in the development of the private sector. There is great potential for China's involvement in the development of trade and investment, Abdullah said.

Reviewing the history of Sino-Afghan relations, the foreign minister said that the relations between the two countries have been very good. The two countries have traditional links which can be traced back to ancient times. The Silk Road is not an unknown name to the Afghan people.

China has stood by the people of Afghanistan and supported their causes. One of the causes was the struggle for independence from the Soviet Union. Secondly, when Afghanistan was attacked by terrorist groups, China not only refused to recognize the Taliban regime, but also maintained diplomatic relations with the resistance government.

(China Daily August 8, 2002)