Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Thursday that China hopes Afghanistan will continue to take effective measures to resolutely combat terrorism and completely eliminate the forces of the "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" (ETIM) in Afghanistan.

The ETIM is an international terrorist organization designated by the United Nations Security Council.

Wang made the remark while meeting with Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of the Afghan interim government, on the sidelines of the third China Xizang Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation held in Nyingchi, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.

China will, as always, support Afghanistan to build an inclusive political structure and is willing to continue helping Afghanistan develop relations with neighboring countries and better integrate into regional economic cooperation, Wang said.

The diplomat reiterated China's position on the Afghan issue, noting that China respects the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and respects the independent choices made by the Afghan people.

"China never interferes in Afghanistan's internal affairs and never seeks selfish interests in Afghanistan," Wang said. "We sincerely hope that the Afghan people will live a stable and happy life and look forward to Afghanistan playing a more constructive role in international affairs."

For his part, Muttaqi reaffirmed that Afghanistan has done a lot of work to combat terrorism and will regard security threats to China as a challenge to itself and not allow any activities on its soil that undermine China's security and stability.

Afghanistan attaches great importance to its relations with China and hopes to actively participate in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" cooperation, Muttaqi told Wang.

He also thanked China for supporting and assisting Afghan athletes to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games, which Wang said has shown a good image of Afghanistan's openness and inclusiveness.