Taliban say China will maintain embassy in Afghanistan and increase economic aid

A Taliban spokesman said on Friday that China had promised to keep its embassy in Afghanistan open. and increase humanitarian aid to the country.

Abdul Salam Hanafi, member of the Islamist group’s political bureau in Doha, Qatar, “had a telephone conversation with Wu Jianghao, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, ”the spokesperson tweeted. Suhail shaheen.

“The Chinese Vice Foreign Minister said he would keep his embassy in Kabul, adding that our relations would be strengthened compared to the past.. Afghanistan can play an important role in the security and development of the region, ”he said.

“China will continue and will also increase its humanitarian aid, in particular for the treatment of COVID-19 ”, continued the spokesperson.

There was no immediate confirmation of Beijing.

Much of the world has taken a wait-and-see approach. see what’s going on with the Taliban – known for their backward stance and violence against women and LGTBI groups –, who will have the challenge of governing the Asian country.

China has said it is ready to deepen relations “friendly and cooperatives“With the Taliban after their inauguration. In the same form, Russia has drawn closer to its former insurgent enemy.

The Chinese Embassy in Kabul is still operational, although Beijing began to evacuate Chinese citizens from the country months ago due to deteriorating security..

But Beijing has yet to recognize the Taliban as the de facto government, and suspicious of the militant group supporting minority Uyghur Muslim separatists seeking to infiltrate their sensitive Xinjiang border region.

For Beijing, an administration stable and cooperative in Kabul would pave the way for an expansion of its Infrastructure abroad, analysts said. While, the Taliban may view China as a crucial source of investment and economic support.

Chinese companies have also looked into the vast mines of the copper and lithium Afghanistan, but experts say the dangerous security situation means that Investors are unlikely to rush into commodities immediately.

Last Tuesday, China claimed that Afghanistan had entered “a new starting point” to find “national peace” after the withdrawal of US troops..

“The history of Afghanistan turned to a new page after the withdrawal of Western troops. Afghans now have a new starting point to find peace at the national level and focus on reconstructionForeign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference.

In recent days, an official from the Asian country has called on all parties to “Contacts“With the Taliban and to guide them ‘actively’.

Beijing’s priority is to avoid being hit by hostilities in Afghanistan, a country with which it shares some 60 kilometers of border in the northwestern region of Xinjiang., an area mainly of Uyghur ethnicity in which attacks of different natures have been recorded in recent decades.

In addition, China wants to eliminate any threat to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a trade route with an investment of 60 billion dollars that will link the city of Kasghar, in Xinjiang, with the Pakistani port of Gwadar, according to experts.

(With information from AFP)

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