Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold talks with a delegation of the interim Afghan Taliban government during his visit to Qatar this week, in the first high-level engagement since the militant group took power in Kabul two months ago.
China has been trying hard to build relations with the Taliban government of Afghanistan as the Chinese aim to exploit the considerable Afghan resources.
Wang, who will be in Doha on Monday and Tuesday, will raise “the situation in Afganistan and issues of mutual concern” during the meeting, a foreign ministry spokesman said.
The first high-level engagement between China’s Foreign Minister and the Taliban
This will be the first high-level engagement between China and the Taliban since the militant outfit unseated the US-backed government in August and declared the establishment of a new regime in Afghanistan following the UStroop Withdrawal.
“As a long-time friendly neghibure and partner of Afghanistan, China has advocated the use of dialogue and engagement in guiding the situation in Afghanistan towards positive development, and to help the Afghan people overcome difficulties.”
China was among the first countries to establish contact with the Taliban after its forces swept through Afghanistan.
In July, two weeks before the takeover of Kabul, Wang was in Tianjin to meet a delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a top Taliban leader and now the deputy prime minister in the new Afghan government.
China announced in September that it would donate 200 million yuan (US$31 million) worth of aid, including food and coronavirus vaccine, to Afghanistan.
In a separate statement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the American side could not take part in the meeting of the “Troika Plus” group – comprising the US, Russia, China and Pakistan – because the US envoy was appointed just before the event.
In a phone call with his Iranian counterpart last week, Wang said China would support Tehran in its bid to host the second meeting of foreign ministers from Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries, to step up coordination and communication.
The first meeting, hosted by Pakistan, took place in September. Apart from China, Iran and the host country, the foreign ministers of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also took part.