Beijing, 17 August 2021 (TDI): Following was the official response from the Chinese Spokesperson on a question about Afghanistan. This question was asked by a journalist to Hua Chunying, Spokesperson at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the recent press briefing.
The Paper: We noted that China has good relations with the Afghan Taliban and other factions. Could you offer more details about China’s role in promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan?
Hua Chunying: As Afghanistan’s largest neighbor, China has always respected Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, adhered to non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, and pursued a friendly policy toward the entire Afghan people.
China has all along maintained contact and communication with the Afghan Taliban on the basis of fully respecting Afghanistan’s sovereignty and the will of all factions in the country, and played a constructive role in promoting the political settlement of the Afghan issue.
In the past few months alone, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted the second China+Central Asia (C+C5) foreign ministers’ meeting, the fourth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue, attended the foreign ministers’ meeting of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, and engaged in close communication and interactions with important stakeholders on the Afghan issue including Russia, Pakistan, the United States, the Central Asian countries, the European Union, Iran, Turkey, etc., and put forward China’s proposal for achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan at an early date.
On July 28, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the visiting delegation led by head of the Afghan Taliban political committee Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tianjin. He expressed the hope that the Afghan Taliban will put the interests of the country and nation first, hold high the banner of peace talks, set the goal of peace, build a positive image and pursue an inclusive policy. All factions and ethnic groups in Afghanistan should form solidarity, truly implement the “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” principle, push for early substantive results in the peace and reconciliation process, and independently establish a broad-based and inclusive political structure that suits Afghanistan’s national realities. In recent days, Yue Xiaoyong, the Special Envoy of the Chinese government on the Afghan issue, has shuttled intensively between Afghanistan, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Iran.
China continues to maintain communication with all parties after major changes took place in Afghanistan in recent days. Last night, State Councilor Wang Yi had telephone conversations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Blinken upon invitation. The Chinese side also participated in the UNSC emergency meeting on Afghanistan. China encourages the Afghan Taliban to pursue a moderate and prudent religious policy, work with other parties to form an open and inclusive political structure, pursue a foreign policy of peace and friendship, and in particular, live in harmony with its neighboring countries and achieve reconstruction and development in Afghanistan. We also hope that the new Afghan regime will make a clean break with all kinds of international terrorist forces, restrain and combat terrorist forces including the ETIM, and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a gathering place of terrorist and extremist forces again.
China will continue to maintain close communication and coordination with all relevant parties to push for an end to the war and lasting peace in Afghanistan at an early date.
