Tuesday, November 1 2005 18:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: Lauding the Indo-Pak decision to open five points along the Line of Control (Loc) to provide relief material to people in both sides of Kashmir, China today (Nov 01, 2005) said it hopes that the move would lead to increasing mutual trust and further easing of bilateral ties.

"We appreciate and welcome the joint measures taken by the Indian and Pakistani Governments to open the border points," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told reporters while commenting on the agreement reached between New Delhi and Islamabad during the weekend.

"We hope and believe that the measure taken by both sides would help increase mutual trust and cooperation between the two sides and push forward relaxation of their relations," Kong said.

The Chinese media has also commented positively on the latest Indo-Pakistan detente as an "unprecedented step." It is an "unprecedented step," the official 'China Daily' said in an editorial on Monday (Oct 31, 2005), adding that the move would give hope to the 3.3 million victims of the massive earthquake that rocked the Kashmir region.

It also noted that India had pledged 25 million US dollars to Pakistan at a recent donor conference held by the United Nations.

"This may be the start of further negotiations between the two nations as it demonstrates a genuine spirit of concern. This process should build trust and permit further moves towards peace in the future," the editorial said.