China's First Country To Appoint Ambassador Since Taliban POWERed, Beijing: China's Policy On Afghanistan Is Clear

JAKARTA - China became the first country in the world to appoint ambassadors to Afghanistan under the Taliban government officially after its diplomats handed over credentials to the government in Kabul.

Beijing does not show whether the appointment means a broader step towards formal recognition of the Taliban. So far, no government in the world has officially recognized the Afghan government under the Taliban.

"This is the normal rotation of China's ambassador to Afghanistan, and it is intended to continue to advance dialogue and cooperation between China and Afghanistan," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"China's policy towards Afghanistan is clear and consistent," the statement said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Taliban government's Foreign Ministry told Reuters, Diplomat Zhao Xing was the first ambassador from any country to occupy the post since August 2021, when the Taliban took over the government when US-led foreign forces withdrew after 20 years.

Acting Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund has received the mandate of the new envoy at a ceremony, Taliban government deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi said in a statement.

The Taliban government spokesman's office published photos of ceremonies at Afghanistan's presidential palace on Wednesday in which ambassadors were accepted by officials, including Akhund and Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

The previous Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu, took the role in 2019 and completed his term last month.

It is known, there were other diplomats in Kabul who held ambassadors, but all of them had already held their posts before the takeover of the Taliban.

Other countries and agencies, such as Pakistan and the European Union, have sent senior diplomats to lead diplomatic missions using the title 'charge d'aflaires', which does not require showing ambassador credentials to the host country.

The Taliban entered the capital on August 15, 2021, when Afghan security forces, formed with Western support for years, were devastated and President Ashraf Ghani fled.