China said Monday its special envoy spent the past week mediating between Afghanistan and Pakistan and had urged an immediate cease-fire in the deadly cross-border conflict.

South Asian neighbors Pakistan and Afghanistan have had a strained relationship for months, after dozens of people were killed in fighting in October last year.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants from the Pakistani Taliban, who have claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks in Pakistan, as well as from the local offshoot of the Daesh terrorist group.

The Afghan Taliban authorities deny the charge.

Pakistan is one of China's closest partners in the region, but Beijing also calls itself a "friendly neighbor" of Afghanistan.

"China has consistently mediated the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan through its own channels," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news briefing.

The ministry also said Monday it had sent its special envoy for Afghan affairs to both countries to mediate the conflict.

A separate ministry statement published Monday said special envoy Yue Xiaoyong had visited the two countries between March 7 and 14.

In Afghanistan, Yue met Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as well as the minister of commerce and industry.

Yue also held meetings with high-level officials in Pakistan, including Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch.

"He urged both sides to maintain calm and restraint, to implement an immediate cease-fire and cessation of hostilities and to resolve their contradictions and differences through dialogue," the ministry's statement said.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi also held a call with Muttaqi Friday, during which he promised to continue "making active efforts" to reconcile Afghanistan and Pakistan and ease tensions.

"The use of force will only complicate the situation ... and threaten regional peace and stability," Wang told Muttaqi, according to a readout released late Friday.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry also confirmed Yue's visit Monday.

"Consultations were held on matters relating to regional peace and stability, including Afghanistan," ministry spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi told AFP.

The conflict has flared since Feb. 26, when Afghanistan launched a border offensive in retaliation for earlier Pakistani airstrikes.

Pakistan then declared "open war" against the Taliban authorities, bombing the capital Kabul the next day.

China has poured tens of billions of dollars into Pakistan to fund massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects as part of Beijing's transnational Belt and Road project.

Islamabad used Chinese-made military hardware, including jets, against India during a short conflict last May.

However, analysts say Beijing has also become a crucial partner of the Taliban authorities since they swept back to power in Kabul in 2021 after ousting the foreign-backed government.