China firmly supports peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan, and will help Afghanistan, not in words but with concrete actions to enhance its capacity to achieve independent development. China is ready to step up cooperation with Afghanistan in such areas as infrastructure, agriculture, water conservancy and the exploration and utilization of mineral resources. China has decided to offer Afghanistan grant assistance of 500 million yuan this year, and 1.5 billion yuan over the coming three years. China will also train 3,000 Afghan professionals in various fields and offer 500 scholarships over the next five years. China will continue to expand security training and assistance to Afghanistan.

China firmly supports Afghanistan in joining regional cooperation to the benefit of increased trade, closer economic cooperation and greater connectivity in the region. China wishes to see Afghanistan fully leverage its geographical and resource advantages, and actively participate in China's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative. China will send working groups to conduct thorough consultations with Afghanistan on specific cooperation programs. China takes and will continue to take an active part in the cooperation on Confidence-Building Measures within the framework of the Istanbul Process, and plans to hold training sessions on counterterrorism, counternarcotics and disaster management for Afghanistan this year.

The Afghan issue is vital to the well-being of the Afghan people. It also concerns the people in the region and beyond. To the Afghan people who have suffered enormously from war and turbulence and who look forward with great expectations to the future, nothing is more important and valuable than the understanding, support and help of their neighbors and friends. Today, the foreign ministers and senior representatives from 46 countries and international organizations, including members, support countries and guests of the host country of the Istanbul Process, are gathered in Beijing to discuss important measures to achieve peace, development and security in Afghanistan and in the region as a whole. This in itself sends a positive signal to the whole world: We have a common goal, which is to achieve peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan at an early date; and we have a common vision, which is to help Afghanistan, a shining pearl once, to regain its splendor at an early date.

As an Afghan proverb goes, as long as there is determination to climb to the mountain top, one is always able to find a path. We in China also have a saying, that is, a thousand-mile journey begins with the first step. This Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan marks a good beginning for Afghanistan-related regional and international cooperation in the new era. And I believe it will yield positive results with our in-depth discussions and consultations. Let us work together and make continued and unremitting efforts for sustained development, security and prosperity in Afghanistan and in the region as a whole.

The author is the premier of China and the article is an excerpt of his speech at the opening ceremony of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan held in Beijing on October 31, 2014.