China and Afghanistan yesterday agreed to strengthen bonds in the battle 
against terrorism and drug crime. 
 
 
 | 
    Chinese President Hu 
 Jintao (R) shows the way to Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai during a 
 welcome ceremony inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing June 19, 
 2006. [Reuters]
  | 
The two nations signed 
deals on border control, terrorism and drug-related crime, after President Hu 
Jintao met his counterpart Hamid Karzai in Beijing. 
The presidents held an hour-long closed-door meeting in the Great Hall of the 
People. 
It was the third time they had met in a week, following the Shanghai 
Co-operation Organization's summit on Thursday and the Conference on Interaction 
and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia held in Kazakhstan on Saturday. 
A total of 11 documents were signed yesterday, including agreements on civil 
aviation, agriculture, trade and fighting cross-border crime. 
Karzai said China has cultivated close ties with Afghanistan for a long time 
and the Afghan Government and people are very appreciative of the precious 
support. 
He welcomed a more active and extensive Chinese participation in the 
reconstruction of Afghanistan. 
China is one of Afghanistan's major trade partners, with export volume to 
Afghanistan totalling US$317 million in the 2005-2006 fiscal year, third after 
Japan and Pakistan. 
Karzai also expressed his desire to enhance coordination with China in 
regional and world affairs, pledging to be the "co-operative bridge" between 
Beijing and the Central Asian nations. 
Observers said the main purpose of Karzai's China tour is to extend and 
develop bilateral ties. 
At present, terrorism, extremism and drug crime pose major threats to Afghan 
reconstruction, said Yu Sui, a senior researcher with the Research Centre of the 
Contemporary World. 
As SCO member states have co-operated effectively in the fight against such 
obstacles, it is reasonable for Afghanistan to work closely with the SCO or its 
individual members to stamp out its own problems. 
Signing the agreements with China underlined the urgency. 
"Stepping up co-operation with China reflects Afghanistan's strong desire to 
join the organization," Yu said. 
Karzai told reporters earlier that "Afghanistan belongs to the region. It has 
no other ways, and cannot be left outside the region." 
Afghanistan, which shares a 76-kilometre-long border with China, would 
benefit from China's good neighbourly policy, its aid based on the principles of 
equality and respect for other countries' sovereignty, and its growing economic 
strength, added Yu. 
Karzai will visit Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region late 
this afternoon. 
In another development, Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan also met with his 
Afghan counterpart Abdul Rahim Wardak yesterday, pledging to upgrade military 
ties between the two neighbouring countries. 
(China Daily 06/20/2006 page1)