China’s special Afghan envoy optimistic about future relations with ‘friendly’ Taliban
- Yue Xiaoyong tells a Chinese news portal that the militant group ‘like to exchange ideas and listen to what people say and explain things’
- Beijing has indicated it is keen to work with the Taliban to ensure stability and combat terrorism
“From my experience interacting with them, my feeling is that [the Taliban] are the same as other Afghans, and people in the region, like people from the countryside or villages,” he said.
“They have been very eager to learn from other countries’ experiences, including China’s. We have always told them that they should figure out their own way, but we are willing to provide assistance.”
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Yue, who was speaking from Pakistan, continued: “From a long-term and constructive perspective, China is ready to be part of the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan. We are not only ready to open, develop and build our own country, we are also willing to develop a win-win situation with them.
“We have already been working with countries in the region – in the north [of Afghanistan], many Central Asian countries are part of the Belt and Road Initiative, which has been very successful. We also have a lot of projects that boost connectivity.”
Yue’s optimism underpins Beijing’s willingness to engage with the Taliban, although it has not formally endorsed the militant group as Afghanistan’s legitimate government.
The Taliban has indicated that it wants to shed some of its fundamentalism and establish a sustainable regime, and promised that it will “never allow any force” to engage in acts detrimental to neighbouring countries.
Yue said China should “carefully watch Afghanistan’s situation in combating terrorist groups” and stressed the importance of the Taliban cutting links with the ETIM.
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“For us, the best way forward is to communicate and be in touch with them, and work with them towards a peaceful reconciliation to build a widely accepted government, work towards combating terrorism, and build Afghanistan into a country that is friendly to its neighbours, the region and the international community,” he said.
Yue said “up to now, we have seen some positive trends from how the Taliban entered Kabul” and took over most of the country with problems in just a “few locations”.
“This is a continuous progress, and this is why we are going to keep up our exchanges with the Taliban and other interested parties to make sure that we, as neighbouring countries, can help them build an environment and conditions that can help Afghans to really take charge of their country’s future.
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“This is why we opened up talks with them in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, in Central Asia and in Afghanistan,” Yue said, referring to the China-Russia co-led regional Eurasian security organisation where Afghanistan has observer status.
Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu met Abdul Salam Hanafi, the deputy head of the Taliban political office in Qatar, in Kabul on Tuesday, while Yue discussed the situation in Afghanistan with Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani two days later.
Beijing had also been in communication with the Taliban before it seized power. In July, two weeks before the fall of Kabul, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met a Taliban delegation in Tianjin, underlining the need for an inclusive government and urging the group to cut ties with all terrorist groups.
Pakistani and Russian officials have also met Taliban representatives since the fall of the capital.
