China Urges World to Stop Pressuring Afghanistan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – China has urged the international community to stop pressuring Afghanistan as it is undergoing its current power transition, and also refuse to use it as a score-settling arena.
"The international community should [rather] encourage and guide it (Afghanistan) in a positive direction instead of exerting more pressure," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday during a phone call with British counterpart Dominic Raab.
Furthermore, according to Wang, on the basis of non-interference in its internal affairs, China is willing to continue “to play a constructive role in the Afghan issue.”
The foreign minister stressed that with the coming to power of the insurgent group, the situation in the war-torn country remains unstable and uncertain.
Such attitude would, in turn, contribute to stabilizing the situation in the Central Asian country, Wang added, according to a statement made by the Chinese Foreign Ministry concerning the conversation.
The Taliban group is about to resume its rule in the country after seizing almost the entirety of its expanse during armed operations that lasted for months.
The development has kicked up a Western media and political fanfare, alleging strong warnings about a renewed Taliban rule’s potential repercussions for Afghanistan and other countries.
The group has, however, vowed to seek peace with all and enable a trouble-free transition of power.
The Western clamor that mostly comes out of the United States is made while it was the US itself that refused to stand in the way of the Taliban’s resurgence by starting to pull its troops out of Afghanistan in April.
China, on the other hand, generally opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, describing such meddling as a source of tension rather than good.
Speaking to Raab, Wang likewise reasserted Beijing’s hands-off approach, saying world’s various countries had to refrain from using Afghanistan as “a geopolitical battleground,” and rather respect its independence and the will of its people, Reuters said, citing the ministry statement.
Also on Thursday, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told China's state CGTN television that the Asian powerhouse could contribute to the development of Afghanistan in the future.