Ready To Cooperate After The Taliban Took Control Of Afghanistan, China Asks For These Three Things To Be Fulfilled

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. (Twitter/@globaltimesnews)

JAKARTA - China is ready to deepen 'friendly and cooperative' ties with Afghanistan, a government spokesman said Monday, after the Taliban took control of the country.

Sharing a 76-kilometer-long border with Afghanistan, Beijing has sought to maintain informal ties with the Taliban during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, which led to its successful capture of Kabul on Sunday.

Previously, Beijing had long feared Afghanistan could become a staging point for the ethnic Uighur minority in the sensitive border region of Xinjiang. However, at a high-level meeting of the Taliban delegation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Tianjin last month, Afghanistan said it would not be used as a base for militants.

In exchange for the Taliban's statements regarding the Uighurs, China offered economic support and investment for Afghanistan's reconstruction to the Taliban.

This Monday, China said it welcomed the opportunity to deepen ties with Afghanistan, a country that for generations has been coveted for its geostrategic importance by larger powers.

"The Taliban have repeatedly expressed their hope to develop good relations with China, and that they look forward to China's participation in Afghanistan's reconstruction and development", foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters, citing Arab News Monday, August 16.

"We welcome this. China respects the right of the Afghan people to independently determine their own destiny and is willing to continue to develop friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan", he continued.

However, Hua asked the Taliban to fulfill three things, namely ensuring a smooth transition of power, keeping its promise to negotiate the establishment of an open and inclusive Islamic government, and ensuring the security of Afghans and foreign nationals.

The Chinese embassy in Kabul remains operational, Hua said, although Beijing began evacuating Chinese nationals from the country several months ago amid the deteriorating security situation.

In a statement Monday, the embassy told Chinese nationals remaining in Afghanistan to pay attention to the security situation and stay indoors.

To note, China has repeatedly criticized what it sees as the United States' hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan as a leadership failure.