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UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 18-- A Chinese envoy asked the international community to help advance reconciliation in Afghanistan, by encouraging the Taliban to return to the negotiating table. The Afghan government has recently called once again for unconditional talks with the Taliban and reorganized its negotiating team, Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council on Monday. The international community should support the inclusive political process that is Afghan-led and Afghan-owned, support the government's efforts to promote peace talks, and encourage the Taliban to return to the negotiating table as early as possible, he said. He also asked the international community to help Afghanistan improve its security environment. Violence made parliamentary election day on Oct. 20 the deadliest day of the year. The first three quarters of the year saw a record number of civilian casualties, and drug production in the country remains high, noted the Chinese ambassador. The international community should strengthen coordination and cooperation to effectively implement the Security Council resolutions, and continue to help Afghanistan's national security forces to build capacity, he said. Ma asked the international community to help Afghanistan achieve self-driven development, stressing the need to respect the political system and development path independently chosen by the Afghan people. | 
