China says extremism must not be allowed to return to Afghanistan

‘Regional countries and the international community wish to see the future Afghan government pursue moderate Muslim policies,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells Central Asian counterparts

‘Situation in Afghanistan will become even more complicated after the US leaves as there will be a reshuffle of power players,’ academic says

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Observers fear the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan will lead to a power vacuum. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:00pm, 12 May 2021Updated: 11:36pm, 12 May 2021

The international community should not allow extremism to make a resurgence in Afghanistan after the departure of foreign troops, China’s foreign minister told his Central Asian counterparts on Tuesday.

“Both regional countries and the international community wish to see the future Afghan government pursue moderate Muslim policies and avoid extremist tendencies,” Wang Yi said in a meeting with the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

“[We] should not allow terrorism to flare up again in Afghanistan, and hope that [the future Afghanistan government] can develop friendly ties with its neighbouring countries and act as a stabilising force in the region,” he said at the talks in Xian, the capital of north China’s Shaanxi province.

A “political solution” was the only way to address problems in Afghanistan, the ministers said in a joint statement after the meeting.

They also called for efforts to facilitate an “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” reconciliation process, and said foreign troops stationed there should withdraw in an “orderly and responsible way”, and avoid hasty actions.

Beijing would continue to play its part in the peace process, Wang said, adding that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – a security grouping led by China and Russia and including India, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – could play a bigger role in it.

China has repeatedly called on the United States to pull out its troops in a “orderly and responsible” manner, and on Monday blamed their abrupt withdrawal for a surge in attacks, after multiple explosions on Saturday at a girls’ school in Kabul killed more than 60 people, most of them pupils.

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