MESOP NEWS WATCH: RED CHINA & THE TALIBAN – During September, China-Taliban Relations Continued To Strengthen –

Special Dispatch No. 9577

Throughout September 2021, in numerous meetings with Chinese officials as well as media interviews, Taliban continued to emphasize the Taliban’s desire for closer Taliban-China relations,

and China has been responding in kind, including with a shipment of humanitarian aid.
The following are summaries of some of these meetings and interviews:

In a September 1, 2021 interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid expressed the Taliban’s desire to participate in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. He said: “China is our main partner and represents a fundamental and extraordinary opportunity for us, since [Beijing] is willing to invest and rebuild our country. We care very much about the ‘One Belt, One Road’ project, which will lead to the revival of the ancient Silk Road. We are also rich in copper resources, and with help from China, the mines could also be brought back into production and modernized. Ultimately, China is our laissez-passer to global markets.”

During a September 2 phone conversation between Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao and Abdul Salam Hanafi, deputy head of the Afghan Taliban’s political office in Doha, “both sides exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and issues of common concern,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website.

Wu Jianghao stressed to Hanafi that “the future and destiny of Afghanistan are once again in the hands of the Afghan people” and that “the friendship between China and Afghanistan has stayed true for thousands of years, and China has always respected the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and has pursued a friendly policy toward all the Afghan people.” Hanafi called China “a trustworthy friend of Afghanistan” and added: “The Afghan Taliban are willing to further engage in developing friendly relations with China and will never allow any force to use the Afghan territory to threaten China’s interests, and will take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel in Afghanistan.” He also underlined that “the cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) advocated by China is conducive to the development and prosperity of Afghanistan and the region at large” and that “Afghanistan hopes to continue to actively support and participate in the BRI.”

In an exclusive China Media Group (CMG) interview on September 5 with spokesman Mujahid, Mujahid said that China is more than a very important big power among the countries neighboring Afghanistan – it is also a modern country with a developed economy. Afghanistan, he added, needs foreign investment. For all these reasons, he said, the Taliban hope to make progress in future cooperation with China.

Speaking at a September 6 press conference, Mujahid again expressed the Taliban’s hope for cooperation with China, stating that they seek to join the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project that is part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Also on September 6, Hanafi met with Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu; during the meeting, the two discussed bilateral issues. Wang Yu pledged a continuation of China’s humanitarian aid.

The next day, September 7, the Taliban announced an interim government in Afghanistan and declared the country an “Islamic Emirate.” Since then, contacts between Chinese representatives and Taliban continued to intensify.

Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, said that at a September 14 meeting between Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), and Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu, the Chinese ambassador announced that Beijing will send $15 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and that China will continue its cooperation with Kabul.