China aims to 'bridge differences'

Three-way foreign ministers' meetings to be held with Pakistan, Afghanistan

China, Pakistan and Afghanistan will hold their first joint foreign ministers' meeting this year as a way to establish a new platform for regional cooperation.

"Both Pakistan and Afghanistan are important countries in the region. Cooperation will benefit both while confrontation can only hurt," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday in a joint news conference in Beijing with Khawaja Asif, his Pakistani counterpart. Asif embarked on his first trip abroad on Friday after being appointed foreign minister last month.