BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday congratulated Afghan President Hamid Karzai on his re-election and pledged to continue support for the war-torn country's reconstruction.

    "We respect the choice of the Afghan people, and we express our congratulations to Mr. Karzai on his election as the president of Afghanistan for a new term," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu at a regular press conference.

    The Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced Monday that incumbent President Hamid Karzai had won the election after his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the run-off set for Nov. 7.

    "As a friendly neighbor of Afghanistan, China is committed to cementing friendly cooperative ties with the country and supporting its reconstruction," Ma said.

    "We sincerely hope that Afghanistan can realize peace, stability and development as soon as possible," he said.