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Fighting has intensified after the US announced its withdrawal. Photo: Reuters

US says it can still work with China to bring peace to Afghanistan

  • The State Department says the two countries have ‘an alignment of interests’ in stabilising the country after years of conflict
  • China recently hosted a Taliban delegation and one observer said the US is ‘OK with that’ but would worry if they seemed to be getting too close
The US has said Afghanistan is one area that it can work with China to ensure peace and stability after its forces pull out.
“When it comes to the PRC [People’s Republic of China], again, this is one of those areas where we do have an alignment of interests,” Ned Price, the US State Department’s spokesman, told a press conference when asked about the Taliban’s recent meeting with Chinese officials.

“It is in no one’s interest to see an Afghanistan that lacks security, that lacks stability, that lacks prosperity, that is ravaged by violence.”

The US sees China as its biggest strategic rival and the competition between the two sides has intensified in recent years, but they have made efforts to cooperate in certain areas, such as tackling climate change and in resolving regional conflicts.
Beijing has said that the cooperation should be based on mutual trust and called on the US to show sincerity. Foreign vice-minister Xie Feng recently told deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman that the US “can’t expect China to cooperate with it on hot issues unconditionally while suppressing and containing China”.

China has been actively promoting national reconciliation talks between Afghan government and the Taliban, which now controls more than half of the country.

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Why Afghanistan matters to China as US withdraws from war-torn country

Why Afghanistan matters to China as US withdraws from war-torn country
Beijing fears that turmoil in Afghanistan could spill across the border in Xinjiang and will threaten its Belt and Road Initiative projects in Central Asia.

“China and the US can cooperate to increase the Taliban’s willingness to take part in peace talks, and join in efforts with other neighbouring countries,” said Zhu Yongbiao, a professor of international relations at Lanzhou University.

He also argued the two countries could use their “respective advantages” to improve Afghanistan’s capacity for economic development, which would in turn help stabilise the country. Zhu said: “The US is stronger economically while China is more experienced in planning the development path of developing countries.”

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“So far the US is OK with the engagement between China and the Taliban, as Beijing and Washington have a shared interest in counterterrorism. But at some point in the future the US may accuse China of engaging too deeply with the group if the two sides continue to get closer.”

China gave a high-profile reception to the nine-member delegation led by the Taliban’s co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar last Wednesday in the same venue in Tianjin that hosted Sherman days before.

Beijing promised to support the Taliban playing a part in Afghanistan’s security and reconstruction, but also said it must cut ties with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which Beijing holds responsible for violent attacks in its predominantly Muslim Xinjiang region.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tianjin recently. Photo: Xinhua

“The key to cooperation would be promoting substantive negotiations between the Afghanistan government and Taliban, aiming for a political settlement rather than a military solution,” said Huang Minxing, a professor at Northwest University in China.

China has blamed the US pull-out for a surge in violence and said it marked the failure of America’s Afghanistan policy.

Huang warned: “The abrupt withdrawal – for example, it withdrew its forces from Kandahar Airfield overnight without even notifying the Afghan government in advance – shows that the US is not willing to put much effort in Afghanistan any more, which, of course, includes substantive cooperation with any country in dealing with it.”

China repeats warning to leave Afghanistan days after Taliban talks

Price also mentioned a statement jointly issued by the US, China, Russia and Pakistan in May following a meeting in Doha to discuss a reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

The statement read: “We reiterate that there is no military solution in Afghanistan and a negotiated political settlement through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process is the only way forward for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.”

On Thursday, Price said the “US and China are united in this”, adding: “This is not a task for the United States alone. This is not a task for any one country alone.

“This is a task for the international community, and we welcome efforts to support diplomacy that culminates in a just and durable political solution.”

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