BEIJING, Dec. 18 -- China has welcomed India and Pakistan's latest efforts to achieve a ceasefire at the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday.

Defense officials of India and Pakistan will meet next week on ways to ensure a ceasefire at the LoC, said news agency Press Trust of India on Tuesday.

Three months ago Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif met in New York and proposed the meeting to defuse tensions.

Both India and Pakistan are important countries of south Asia, and improved relationship between them is vital to regional peace and stability, Hua said at a daily news briefing.

"As a shared neighbor and friend to the two countries, China will as always support them to resolve relevant disputes properly through peaceful dialogue," Hua said.