China has never had any contact with the al-Qaida terrorist network, and certainly not military relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said in Beijing on August 15.

Kong was asked to comment on a news story carried in the Christian Science Monitor quoting an Afghan intelligence agent as saying that Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaida was seeking air defense missiles from China, and it was possible that China was involved in supporting some al-Qaida camps in Pakistan and making commitments to provide them with missiles.

Kong said that terrorism was a major threat to world peace and stability, and the Chinese government firmly opposed terrorist activities of any form and supported stronger cooperation in the international community in the fight against terrorism.

China's position on this issue was consistent and clear-cut, he stressed.

Kong noted that China was a victim of terrorism and there was conclusive evidence to show that al-Qaida and the Taliban had, in the past, helped "East Turkistan" terrorists train personnel, and provided capital to and assisted the "East Turkistan" terrorists in violent attacks in places such as China's Xinjiang and Central Asia, which seriously threatened peace and tranquility in China and other countries in that area.

He said some media had played up the relationship between China and al-Qaida and claimed that China supported al-Qaida, which completely confused right and wrong and started rumors with evil intentions.

Kong noted that China, a friendly neighbor of Afghanistan, had always been concerned about the development of situation in Afghanistan.

China hoped that Afghanistan would restore peace and take the path to development at an early date, and it had made positive and unremitting efforts to this end, Kong said.

He pointed out that China would develop good-neighborly friendship and cooperation with Afghanistan.