China pledged to provide non-reimbursable assistance of 500 million yuan ($81.43 million) to Afghanistan this year at an international meeting on the country held in Beijing on Friday.

China will provide non-reimbursable assistance of 1.5 billion yuan over the upcoming three years to Afghanistan, to help the country train 3,000 people from all walks of life in the upcoming five years and provide 500 scholarships, said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang while addressing the opening ceremony of the fourth ministerial conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan.

"Firm support for Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction should be concrete action instead of verbal commitment," the premier said.

He pledged to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as infrastructure construction, agriculture, water conservation and mineral resources exploitation.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged that the Chinese side will implement assistance and training plans, and try to open training courses on anti-terrorism, drug control and disaster management.

Inaugurated in 2011, the Istanbul Process is the only Afghanistan-related cooperation mechanism led by regional countries. This was the first Afghan meeting to be held in China.

Wang stressed that realizing political reconciliation as soon as possible and strengthening Afghanistan's capability building were of vital importance to its transition process.

He hoped all political parties in Afghanistan would work toward the realization of inclusive political reconciliation through dialogue and negotiation. He called on the Istanbul Process to play an important and constructive role in helping Afghanistan.

Li also presented a five-point proposal for the solution of the Afghan issue, including insisting on self-governance of the Afghan people, ­promoting political reconciliation among different Afghan political parties, speeding up economic reconstruction, exploring development paths for the country, and strengthening external support.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who is paying his first China visit since taking office in September, agreed with Li's proposals while addressing the opening ceremony.