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Hope Taliban will lead an inclusive Afghan govt: China
China expects that an inclusive political arrangement that is acceptable to all Afghan people will lay the foundation for lasting peace.
China said on Monday it hopes Taliban will make good its promise to ensure smooth transition of Afghanistan under an open and inclusive Islamic government, hours after the insurgent group swept unopposed into capital Kabul and took control of the presidential palace.
It respects the wishes of the Afghan people and is willing to continue to develop friendly ties with Afghanistan, the Chinese foreign ministry said in its first comments on the rapid changes in Afghanistan’s political landscape.
Beijing’s expected endorsement of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan comes a day after Washington-propped President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
“China respects the Afghan people’s right to decide their own destiny and future, and is willing to continue to develop friendly cooperation with Afghanistan. China will play a constructive role for peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Monday.
Asked whether China will recognise a Taliban government, Hua said China expects that an inclusive political arrangement that is acceptable to all Afghan people will lay the foundation for lasting peace in the country.
“Based on fully respecting the national sovereignty of Afghanistan and the will of various factions in the country, China has maintained contact and communication with the Afghan Taliban and played a constructive role in promoting the political settlement of the Afghan issue,” she said
Beijing and its future role in war-torn Afghanistan has been at the centre of much speculation since US President Joe Biden announced in April a full withdrawal of American troops from the country with a 70-odd km border with China.
The high-profile meeting between Taliban leaders and Chinese state councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi in July added to the conjecture. Wang said the Taliban would “play an important role in the process of peaceful reconciliation and reconstruction in Afghanistan”, after the meeting.
That diplomatic forecast by the senior Chinese diplomat is coming true. “The Afghan Taliban said yesterday [Sunday] that the war in Afghanistan has ended and they will negotiate the establishment of an open and inclusive Islamic government and take responsible actions to ensure the safety of Afghan citizens and foreign missions in Afghanistan,” Hua said.
“China hopes that these statements can be implemented to ensure the smooth transition of the situation in Afghanistan, curb all kinds of terrorism and criminal acts, and enable the Afghan people to stay away from war and rebuild their beautiful homeland,” Hua said.
Hua’s statement was a reminder of what the same delegation, which met foreign minister Wang last month had told him: The Taliban would not allow Afghanistan to become a militant base to fuel separatism in Xinjiang, a strategic apprehension for Beijing.
China welcomes the Taliban’s promise that they will allow no force to use the Afghan territory to engage in acts detrimental to China and its expression of hope that China will be more involved in Afghanistan’s peace and reconciliation process and play a bigger role in future reconstruction and economic development, Hua said.
“The Taliban have repeatedly expressed their hope to develop good relations with China, and that they look forward to China’s participation in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan,” Hua added.
“We welcome this. China respects the right of the Afghan people to independently determine their own destiny and is willing to continue to develop... friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan.”
She confirmed that the Chinese embassy in capital Kabul was functioning “as usual” and that the majority of Chinese citizens in the country had been evacuated in advance.
