29 September 2004	Wednesday	13 Shaban 1425

BEIJING, Sept 28: A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Office, Kong Quan, on Tuesday welcomed the talks held in New York last week between President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said it was an important development for promoting peace and stability in the entire region.

"We hope and believe that the two countries would continue the peace process and would solve their disputes through dialogue and coordination," he said at the regular news briefing held here at the Foreign Office.

"It was an important meeting between the two leaders, and we hope it would lead to a positive conclusion," the spokesman added. "Pakistan and India are important countries in South Asia. They are also important neighbours of China," the spokesman said, adding, "We hope and believe that they can solve their disputes peacefully."

Kong Quan said the development of ties between Pakistan and India would not only serve their mutual interests, but also the interest of the whole region. To another question, the spokesman said China stood for a new security concept of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation in tackling security issues and promoting world peace.

"This new concept calls on nations to transcend their differences in ideology and social system, respect each other's security interests and seek peaceful solutions to disputes through dialogue." -APP