China and Afghan Taliban set for closer interaction, as US urged to be ‘pragmatic’

Name: Who is the de facto Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar?
Uploaded: 2021-10-27T10:47:49.000Z
Duration: 4 min 19 s
Description: Who is the de facto Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar?

The US and its allies bear ‘unshirkable responsibility’ for Afghanistan’s troubles, Foreign Minister Wang Yi says during meeting with Afghan Taliban in Doha

Chinese President Xi Jinping joins Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan in calling on the international community to come to the aid of war-torn country

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Doha, Qatar, on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Shi Jiangtao

Published: 6:47pm, 27 Oct 2021Updated: 11:43pm, 27 Oct 2021

China and the Afghan Taliban have agreed to set up a working-level mechanism to step up dialogue, Beijing announced on Wednesday, as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the US and its allies to engage with the Taliban “in a rational and pragmatic manner” to prevent Afghanistan from sliding into a humanitarian crisis and terrorist chaos.

Wang made the remarks in Doha during his first meetings with senior Taliban officials since the militant group formed an interim government in Afghanistan last month. The high-level meetings in the Qatari capital on Monday and Tuesday signalled closer ties between Beijing and the Taliban, observers said.

Wang last met Taliban representatives in Tianjin in July, shortly before the takeover of Kabul, with then Political Commission head Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar leading the delegation.

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Who is the de facto Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar?

Details of the working-level mechanism to enhance dialogue and mutual understanding were not immediately available but, in a pre-recorded message broadcast on Iranian state TV, Wang said that the Taliban was eager to engage globally.

“China will host the third ‘neighbours of Afghanistan’ meeting at the appropriate time,” he said, referring to ministerial-level discussions with the five other nations bordering the war-ravaged country and with a vital stake in its stability.

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a similar appeal on Tuesday after a phone call with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, calling on the international community to swiftly send humanitarian and economic aid to Afghanistan.

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