China: Foreign Minister hosts Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani; discusses peacekeeping

Following the exit of US, NATO and Allied Forces from Afghanistan, China Foreign Minister Wang Yi officially met a nine-member delegation, including Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tianjin. The visit to the port city about 100km from Beijing on July 28, was the first after the cad fundamentalist group annexed more than 65% of the Afghan provinces.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, describing the Taliban as the "pivotal military and political force" urged Abdul Baradar to "draw a line" between the group and the terrorist organisation East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETM), which had carried out attacks in Chinese-adjacent province Badakshan. Meanwhile, among other signs of progress in the meeting, the Taliban also had requested for Chinese surface-to-air missiles during the meeting, the ANI reported.

The Chinese meeting with the Taliban comes after Wang Yi met his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Chengdu last month. Both the diplomats imitated talks about "joint actions" to improve the political and military condition in the Taliban-occupied country.

However, the Chinese-administered outreach program is not the first to be held with the Taliban. In 2015, another Pakistan-brokered meeting took place in Urumqi city in Xinjiang province. The meeting hosted by China its ally Pakistan was to allow peace talks and negotiations in the Taliban-occupied Afghan territories. Another similar meeting was hosted in 2019 when China expressed its will to participate in the economic and peaceful reconstruction process.

China lambasts the US for a speedy exit from Afghanistan

The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi lashed out at the US, NATO, and Allied powers for making a "hasty withdrawal" from Afghanistan. Yi, in his statement, mentioned that the exit has marked the "failure of the U.S policy towards Afghanistan." Meanwhile, he also offered the Taliban to partake in the "peace, reconciliation and reconstruction process" of Afghanistan. Additionally, he also urged the Taliban to "sever all ties with all terrorist organisations, including the ETM." Wang also told the Taliban that it needed to "build a positive image and personal and inclusive policy." Although, human rights hardly seem the priority for this hardline group of authoritarian China.

On the other hand, Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar has promised the Chinese complete protection in the Afghan territory. Baradar committed not to allow "any hostile force to...do anything harmful to China," ANI quoted.

China's involvement in Afghanistan, only to refrain potential threat: Andrew Small

Talking about China's intension in the Afghan territory, Andrew Small, Associate Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations told ANI, "China does not tend to perceive Afghanistan to the prism of opportunities; it is almost entirely about managing threats." Terming the US exit a shake to the geopolitical peacekeeping, Small said, "Beijing certainly hope that the US would withdraw from the region but only after the peace deal had been brokered. But now China is anxious on multiple counts. Its perennial concern is going back to Taliban's last time in power, is the potential for Afghanistan to become a safe haven for militant groups targeting China."

Small further assessed the situation from the Chinese perspective and explained that Beijing is worried about the ripple effect in the neighbouring countries, "particularly Pakistan." The necessity to influence the Taliban is purely backed by the aim to diminish threat factor by the fundamentalist group, Small concluded.

With inputs from ANI

Image: AP