China hosts Taliban leaders as U.S. withdraws troops from Afghanistan

[Boats]

China hosts Taliban leaders as U.S. withdraws troops from Afghanistan
By: Rebecca Tan - The Washington Post - 07-28-21
Re: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...2d8_story.html

Video link: On site only
China's foreign minister welcomed a nine-member delegation from the Taliban, July 28 amid the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. (Associated Press)

China expressed support for the Taliban’s role in Afghanistan’s future while warning it to cut ties with a separatist movement in the Xinjiang region, in a clear expression of Beijing’s geopolitical goals in the Central Asian country.

Just days after meeting with top U.S. officials in the port city of Tianjin, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed a nine-member delegation from the Taliban that included chief negotiator and top political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. This comes amid the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, which some experts and officials have warned could lead to political instability in the region.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Wang told Taliban leaders that America’s “hasty withdrawal” from Afghanistan is a mark of its policy failures in the country. China will not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, he said, adding that the Taliban is expected to “play an important role in the process of peace, reconciliation and reconstruction” of the country.

The meeting comes as the Taliban has increasingly been reaching out to countries in the region, in the likely expectation that the movement will soon become a major player in the running of Afghanistan.

While peace talks are underway between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, they have been stalled, even as the militants have unleased offensives in Afghanistan that have won it new territory.

Note: More photo's on site only - no additional links available - Boats

Chinese leaders also took the opportunity to demand that the Taliban sever all ties with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which Beijing has frequently blamed for attacks in its far western Xinjiang province. The movement “poses a direct threat to China’s national security and territorial integrity,” Wang said, adding that “it is the common responsibility of the international community to fight against ETIM.”

Taliban leaders at the meeting pledged to respect the national security of China, Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, said in a Twitter statement.

China has long been critical of U.S. presence in Afghanistan but recently aired concerns that U.S. military withdrawal could plunge the region into instability and potentially cause security problems along China’s sensitive northwest border.

Human rights violations against the Uyghur population in the northwest territory of Xinjiang have elicited widespread condemnation from the international community and continue to be a major source of tension between the United States and China.

About this writer: Alicia Chen and Pei Lin Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Personal note: China is only attempting to pick up some resources from the area plus
any oil if available. There not nice guys - they are schemer's and bandits and will reap
whatever then can get their hands on. The Taliban's will regret ever working with China
- as they will soon find out once they are in their country.
-
Boats