Ready To Continue Communications With The Taliban, China: We Respect Afghanistan's Sovereignty And Independence

JAKARTA - China said on Wednesday it was ready to maintain communication with leaders of the new Taliban government in Afghanistan. China calls it a necessary step in reconstruction.

This was conveyed by Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a daily briefing in Beijing, answering the question of whether China would recognize Afghanistan's new government under the Taliban, whose names were announced yesterday.

The Taliban are known to have selected a number of senior figures, politicians and well-known military commanders, to occupy positions in the government, including people close to the late Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban.

"We (China) respect Afghanistan's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity," Wang said.

After the successful Taliban took power in Afghanistan on August 15, China called for the formation of an open and inclusive government to Taliban leaders.

"We hope that the new Afghan government will listen widely to people of all races and factions, to fulfill the aspirations of its own people and the expectations of the international community," Wang said.

"China attaches great importance to the Taliban's announcement of the formation of an interim government. This ends more than three weeks of anarchy in Afghanistan and is a necessary step for the restoration of order and for the country's post-war reconstruction," Wang said.

Earlier this week, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said China together with Russia, Turkey, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan would be invited to attend the announcement of the new Afghan government.

Long before, China was known to have several times communicated with the Taliban, or simply expressed support for Afghanistan's sovereignty. Last July, a Taliban delegation consisting of nine people visited China for a working visit, discussing a number of matters with the Chinese government, represented by Foreign Minister Wang Yi on this occasion.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi also briefly spoke to United States Foreign Minister Antony Blinken by telephone, asking Uncle Sam's country to respect Afghanistan's sovereignty while mobilizing the international community to help the country.

Meanwhile, after the takeover of Kabul on August 15, Deputy Head of the Political Office of the Taliban in Qatar Abdul Salam Hanafi, met with Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu in Kabul.

Along with Russia, China is known to keep its embassy in Kabul, after the Taliban quickly seized control of the Afghan capital, prompting foreign nationals and their Afghan allies to evacuate immediately.