KABUL: China has never interfered in the internal affairs of Afghanistan and never sought selfish gains or a sphere of influence, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a meeting with Afghan Taliban officials in Kabul on Thursday.
Wang met with Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi of the Afghan Taliban’s interim government earlier in the day. His visit comes ahead of the third Foreign Ministers’ Meeting among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan, which is now being prepared by the Chinese side.
China and Afghanistan are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers and bilateral exchanges spanning over a thousand years, Wang said.
He said China respects Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, respects the independent choices of the Afghan people, and respects Afghanistan’s religious beliefs and ethnic habits.
Citing the Afghan saying that China is the only major country that has never harmed Afghanistan, Wang said China is willing to continue the traditional friendship between the two peoples and develop normal, friendly and good-neighborly relations with Afghanistan based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
He said China is willing to help Afghanistan become independent, achieve independent development, and take Afghanistan’s future and destiny into the Afghan people’s hands.
The Chinese foreign minister arrived in Kabul from the Pakistani capital Islamabad, where he attended a two-day meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Visit of top China diplomat sends ‘positive message’: Taliban
China’s foreign minister Thursday arrived in Afghanistan on his maiden trip to the country after the exit of US-led foreign forces last year.
As most countries worldwide have taken a wait-and-see approach to the country’s Taliban interim government, officials said the visit by Wang Yi sent a “positive message.”
The visit comes a day after Yi attended the foreign ministers’ summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) hosted by Pakistan, but also after Taliban officials canceled education beyond sixth grade for girls — a move widely decried.
After arriving in Kabul, Yi met with interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and other top diplomats, said a ministry statement.
د چین د بهرنیو چارو وزیر نن په یوه ځانګړي سفر افغانستان ته راغی او له خپل سیال محترم متقي صاحب سره یې غونډه جریان لري.
جزئیات وروسته… pic.twitter.com/sCKvvy4dv5— Hafiz Zia Ahmad (@HafizZiaAhmad1) March 24, 2022
Yi also met with Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of Afghanistan’s two interim deputy prime ministers.
“Stability in Afghanistan is in the interest of the region and world, a goal attained,” Muttaqi told Yi.
“It is now the responsibility of the world to enhance this stability by cooperating in political and economic areas,” he said.
In a statement, ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said the two sides discussed politics, economics, transit, air corridors, dried fruit exports, educational scholarships, visas, mining, and Afghanistan’s role in China’s multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative.
Lauding Beijing for its support, Muttaqi said Yi’s visit to Kabul sent a “positive message to Afghans and the world.”
“The security brought about by the new government lays the foundation for foreign investment, including China, in Afghanistan that ensures their interest besides cooperating with Afghans in economic growth and stability with the full support of the new government,” Muttaqi told Yi.
‘NON-INTERFERENCE IN AFGHAN AFFAIRS’
Yi said his visit to Afghanistan is a “step towards strengthening comprehensive relations.” He said China “conducts a policy of non-interference in Afghan internal affairs.”
According to Balkhi, Yi also expressed “objections to the political and economic sanctions imposed on Afghanistan.”
“He praised the changes and security under the new Afghan government,” Balkhi said.
Yi said a meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbours set to be held in China next week is “important.”
Muttaqi is expected to attend the meeting.
Beijing has extended support to the Taliban administration since the fall of the US-backed Kabul administration last August. It has sent humanitarian aid and also received imports from Afghanistan.
Baradar’s office said the deputy prime minister told the visiting delegation that “China and Afghanistan have good historical relations and the Islamic emirate wants to further develop these relations.”
“Mr. Wang praised the overall security situation in Afghanistan,” Baradar’s office said. “China will soon begin work on copper mines.”
Last year, the Taliban returned to power after 20 years of conflict with US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan. The forces left the war-torn country last August, resulting in a meltdown of the US-backed Kabul administration.
Earlier, during negotiations between Washington and the Taliban, Yi also hosted Taliban leaders for talks.
China has also criticised the US decision to block Afghan foreign reserves and sought the immediate return of the money to Afghanistan, which is facing a humanitarian crisis.
