China said on Monday that it is ready to continue contributing to reconciliation and the easing of tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian made the remarks at a regular press briefing, saying that China has been working through its own channels to mediate in the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

In recent days, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held separate phone calls with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, while China's special envoy for Afghan affairs has conducted shuttle diplomacy between the two countries.

The Chinese embassies in both Afghanistan and Pakistan have also kept lines of communication open, Lin said.

Both Afghanistan and Pakistan have expressed appreciation for China's active mediation efforts, he added.

Lin noted that Afghanistan and Pakistan are neighbors that cannot move away from each other, and any problems between them can only be resolved through dialogue and consultation.

The immediate priority is to prevent the fighting from expanding and to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table as soon as possible, he said.

China hopes the two sides will remain calm and restrained, engage in face-to-face communication at an early date, achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible and resolve their differences through dialogue, Lin added.

In recent weeks, scores of people from both sides have been killed or injured in the conflict between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, according to officials from both countries.