Taliban wants to enhance ties with China after getting humanitarian aid, claims mouthpiece

The Taliban has "expressed its gratitude" to China for its "humanitarian assistance" to Afghanistan, Chinese mouthpiece Xinhua reported on Wednesday. A video shared by China Xinhua News on its Twitter handle shows the Taliban's deputy minister for Information and Culture Zabiullah Mujahid thanking Beijing for its support. Mujahid has also expressed hope that Chinese assistance towards the war-torn country continues.

"We are very thankful to China for its support for Afghanistan. We have received the assistance and we are hopeful the Chinese assistance would continue," Zabiullah Mujahid can be heard saying in the video. 

Taliban hopes to enhance ties with China after receiving humanitarian aid 

The Taliban spokesperson has also hailed China as a "developing country" whose role in solving Afghanistan's problems is "significant", he added. Moreover, the Taliban also asserted that Afghanistan's relations with China will further enhance and that both sides will have "trustable relations," reported Xinhua 

'We will have good, friendly, cordial, trustable and cooperative relations," the Taliban spokesperson added 

This comes after China reportedly donated several supplies like a batch of China-donated winter supplies, construction of a mosque and two wells. In addition, the Taliban has also received a batch of COVID-19 vaccines, reported Xinhua. The construction of the mosque and two wells was inaugurated by Chinese and Taliban officials at the Ministry of Justice of Afghanistan, it added.

This comes after the Taliban sought Beijing's help to get international recognition. Zabiullah Mujahid had requested China to help the interim Afghanistan government to get global acceptance. The Taliban termed China as "one of the most important countries in the world". Earlier in August, the armed group had appealed to the international community to recognise its government, even as the group sought to pacify China. A spokesperson of the Taliban had then said that Beijing can play a "big role" in the war-torn nation.

"China is a big country with huge economy and capacity. They can play a big role in rebuilding reconstructing of Afghanistan," Shaheen had said, as quoted by PTI.

Image: AP