Afghanistan's Karzai Meets With Top Chinese Leaders

Afghan President Hamid Karzai (center) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) respond to children waving the national flags of their two countries at a welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 27.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has held separate meetings in Beijing with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

Xi told Karzai that China would continue to "provide help for the peaceful reconstruction and economic development of Afghanistan."

One of the main topics on the agenda was Afghanistan's Aynak copper mine.

A Chinese consortium led by the China Metallurgical Group Corporation has the rights to develop the mine, a project estimated to cost some $3 billion.

The project represents the biggest foreign investment in Afghanistan, but security problems have prevented the start of work at the site.

Earlier in the day, Karzai met with Vice Prime Minister Wang Yang in the northwestern city of Xian before departing for Beijing.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and dpa