Susan Osman invites guests to discuss the U.S. role in Iraq and Afghanistan. What has China's perspective been? Was the US-led invasion of Iraq legal or illegal? What of post-war governance?
US General Stanley McChrystal said last week that there had been "enough fighting" in Afghanistan. And he said a political solution in the war-torn country was "inevitable". His remarks came as the top UN envoy in Kabul said it was time to talk to the militants. Afghan and Pakistani leaders are in Turkey to discuss tackling the Taliban-led insurgency in their countries.
Both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, attended an international conference on Afghanistan in London last week. Gen McChrystal has said the arrival of the extra 30,000 US troops pledged by President Obama and the additional 7,000 troops promised by other Nato countries should deliver significant progress in 2010.
And he said that a political solution to the conflict was inevitable. Afghan President Karzai told the BBC last week of his desire for reconciliation. He did not rule out a role for the Taliban in a future Afghan government.
As we reported earlier this week, the news that US geologists have discovered vast mineral wealth in Afghanistan is being widely discussed here in China.
That's right. Pentagon officials say their find suggest Afghanistan could become one of the most lucrative mining areas in the world.
An estimated $1 trillion US dollars worth of untapped minerals have been discovered, including iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium.
This isn't just a big deal for Afghanistan and the US. It's also a big deal for China, which shares a border with the war-torn country. Let’s cross to the newsroom now where our researcher Quincy Hsiao has been following the online Chinese reaction to this news.
ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER DISASTER CITY CENTER STABBING SPREE INNOVATIVE IDEAS TRIBAL AREA GETS CHINESE HELP A FOOD SCANDAL WITH A TWIST IS OBAMA RIGHT ON AFGHANISTAN MILK VICTIMS CRY FOUL MONKEY KING MAGIC WHO IS THE BIGGEST EMPLOYER IN CHINA
China Denies Spying Bombed Conference Driver Kills Nine Shandong Driver Pleas For Mercy Milk Scandal Sexual Frustration China Sends Aid To Mongolia Chinese FM On Afghanistan
STUDENTS TO INTERN AT US DISNEYLAND SEEING CLEARLY IN TIBET OBAMA'S BEST POINTS WHAT WOULD YOU ASK OBAMA? CHANGED DYNAMICS IN SINO-US RELATIONSHIP PAS DE DEUX - OBAMA IN BEIJING OBAMA Q&A SHOWN IN CHINA?