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Reuters

China is organising talks among Afghanistan’s rival factions as part of efforts to end years of war after negotiations between the Taliban and the United States on the withdrawal of American forces broke down, Afghan officials said on Wednesday.
China, which shares a short border with Afghanistan, has been trying to encourage peace efforts and last month a Taliban delegation visited Beijing for talks with government officials.
“China has invited a delegation … to participate in the intra-Afghan dialogue,” a Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said in a post on Twitter late on Tuesday.
The so-called intra-Afghan dialogue is aimed at reconciliation between Afghanistan’s warring parties and has been running parallel to the talks between the insurgents and the United States.

Those negotiations had aimed at striking a deal for US and other foreign troops to withdraw in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.
Last month, US President Donald Trump halted the talks after the militants carried out a bomb attack in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier.
The United States has been hoping that its deal with the Taliban would pave the way for a ceasefire and power-sharing talks between the Afghan government and the insurgents.
The Taliban has refused to talk to the government, denouncing it a US puppet, but government officials have taken part in the intra-Afghan dialogue as private citizens.
Shaheen said the talks in China would be held on that basis.
“All participants will be attending the meeting in their personal capacity and they will share their personal opinions for solving the Afghan issue,” he said. He did not give a date for the talks.
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper makes unannounced visit to Kabul
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China supported the Afghan peace process and it was willing to provide what help it could.
But she declined to comment directly on any Chinese meeting, saying if the government had anything to announce it would do so in a “timely manner”.
An Afghan government spokeswoman said the talks in China were expected by the end of the month but it had not been decided who would take part from the government side.
“We welcome all efforts that help the Afghan peace process,” said Najia Anwari, spokeswoman for the Ministry of State for Peace Affairs.
A spokesman for former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, who attended the first round of intra-Afghan talks in Russia in February, said Karzai would go if invited.
Veteran Afghan militia commander and politician Ismail Khan said he would be in a delegation of up to 30 people, including government representatives, but he did not expect any conclusions to be reached at this stage.
“I hope this dialogue opens the way to further meetings through which we can achieve a peaceful solution,” Khan told Reuters.
A 60-strong delegation of Afghans, including government officials and representatives of civil society groups, held a second round of intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban in July in Qatar


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Afghanistan

China steps in to revive Afghanistan peace talks

Members of the Taliban delegation arriving for previous talks in Moscow. A fresh round of intra-Afghan peace talks are being organised in Beijing. Photo: AP

FILE - In this May 28, 2019 file photo, Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha, speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. The Taliban said Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, that a fresh round of intra-Afghan peace talks is to be held in China next week. The announcement raises hopes for renewed negotiations, even as violence surges in Afghanistan’s 18-year war. Shaheen said Tuesday that the talks are planned for Oct. 28 and 29. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

China urges US to continue to engage with Taliban after talks in Beijing as conflict continues in Afghanistan

President Donald Trump said talks between US diplomats and the Taliban were “dead”. Photo: AP

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang speaks during a daily briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019. China's government called on Washington on Tuesday to "stop the unreasonable crackdown" on Huawei following the tech giant's indictment in the U.S. on charges of stealing technology and violating sanctions on Iran. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

FILE PHOTO: Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani gestures during his election campaign rally in Kabul, Afghanistan September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper makes unannounced visit to Kabul in his first trip to Afghanistan since being named Pentagon chief

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo: Reuters

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, center, walks Gen. Scott Miller, right, chief of the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, at the U.S. military headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Esper arrived Sunday in Afghanistan, where stalled peace talks with the Taliban and persistent violent attacks by the insurgent group and Islamic State militants have complicated the Trump administration’s pledge to withdraw more than 5,000 American troops. He told reporters traveling with him that he believes the U.S. can reduce its force in Afghanistan without hurting the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Lolita C. Balbor)

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Warring parties invited to Beijing after Taliban delegation visited Chinese capital last month



Warring parties invited to Beijing after Taliban delegation visited Chinese capital last month.


US-China relations

China steps in to revive Afghanistan peace talks

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Warring parties invited to Beijing after Taliban delegation visited Chinese capital last month

Warring parties invited to Beijing after Taliban delegation visited Chinese capital last month