Hours after the armed group Taliban captured Kabul and entered the Presidential Palace of Afghanistan, China expressed its readiness to deepen “friendly and cooperative” relations with the country.
Taliban has taken over the entire nation as the official government’s supreme leader, Ghani, fled the land, leaving hundreds of thousands of people to fend for themselves amid guns and rifles laden Taliban men.
The Chinese statement came today through government spokeswoman Hua Chunying following its earlier expressed intention of maintaining unofficial friendly ties with the Taliban as the US withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. The move was seen as an encouragement by the extremists of the Taliban who spread havoc across the country and managed to seize it by Sunday.
Afghanistan and China share an approximately 76 kilometres long border with each other.
The Chinese revelation is a reflection of its relief as the country remained stressed for ages over Afghanistan becoming a staging point for Muslim minorities Uyghur separatists in Xinjiang. Beijing is currently acting as the hub of concentration camps where Uyghur Muslims are forced to convert, eat pork, among several other inhumane acts including organ harvesting.
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Its fears were put to rest after a senior delegate of the Taliban met with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month in Tianjin and promised that Afghanistan would not be used as a base for the militants.
As a token of gratitude, China offered economic support and investment to reconstruct Afghanistan as per the Taliban’s preference.
Afghanistan has been seen as a vital country by the world powers due to its geo-strategic importance. In its Monday’s statement, China said it “welcomed” the newfound ties between the two nations. “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,” the foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
“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 added.
“Ensure a smooth transition” of power, Hua requested the Taliban while urging the armed group to stay on the promises they made including the negotiation for establishing an “open and inclusive Islamic government” with Afghans and foreign citizens’ safety ensured.
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Though Beijing evacuated several of its Kabul embassy employees months ago, Hua said today that the Chinese embassy will remain open in Afghanistan’s capital city. In a message to its citizens presently in the war-ridden nation, the embassy told them to “pay close attention to the security situation” and remain within their homes.
