Proactive approach to Taliban helps safeguard security in northwest China: envoy
- Beijing’s ‘accurate grasp’ of the Afghanistan issue has also strengthened China’s position in the South Asian region, Yue Xiaoyong said
- The special envoy’s comments reflect a growing engagement with the Taliban’s regime, which is not formally recognised by Beijing
“In the grand picture of our foreign diplomacy, our proactive position in Afghanistan and its neighbouring South Asian region has been strengthened,” Yue told an event at Renmin University’s School of Global and Area Studies in Beijing on Tuesday.
A long-standing concern for Beijing is the potential for its neighbour to harbour terrorist and extremist groups that could pose a security threat, particularly to Xinjiang, which shares a 92.45km (57.4 miles) border with Afghanistan.
In October, the Taliban leadership assured Beijing that it regards threats to China as seriously as a threat against its own country.
While not formally recognising the Taliban regime, China is one of the few countries – along with Pakistan and Russia – to maintain a diplomatic presence in Kabul after the chaotic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan two years ago.