Chinese State Councilor and outreach agent Qin Gang recently met with the acting foreign minister of the interim government of Afghanistan Mottaki. According to the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mottaki said that Afghanistan hopes to strengthen economic, trade, cultural and infrastructure construction with China under the framework of the “Belt and Road Initiative”. field cooperation.
According to the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang met with Amir Khan Muttaqi in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on the 6th local time.
Qin Gang said that Afghanistan should earnestly fulfill its commitment to fighting terrorism, resolutely crack down on terrorist forces including the “East Turkestan Islamic Movement” (East Turkestan Islamic Movement), and ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and institutions in Afghanistan. China will continue to promote China-Arabia-Pakistan trilateral dialogue and cooperation based on the principles of equal consultation, pragmatism and friendship, mutual benefit and win-win results.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Mottaki as saying that Afghanistan attaches great importance to developing relations with China and will never allow any force to use Afghan territory to engage in anti-China activities.
Mottaki said that Afghanistan hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as economy, trade, humanities, and infrastructure construction under the “Belt and Road” framework, and safeguard the common interests of both sides; it also hopes to live in harmony with China, Pakistan and other neighboring countries, and is willing to actively promote the cooperation between Afghanistan and China. Pakistani tripartite cooperation to promote regional stability and prosperity.
Qin Gang attended the 5th China-Arabia-Pakistan Tripartite Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue in Islamabad on the 6th local time. Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari chaired and Mottaki attended.
Qin Gang said that the success of the Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue marked the restart of the China-Arabia-Pakistan tripartite cooperation mechanism. China has always attached importance to developing friendly relations with Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is willing to work together to implement global development initiatives, global security initiatives, and global civilization initiatives through bilateral and trilateral cooperation mechanisms.
Qin Gang emphasized that China is willing to strengthen counter-terrorism security cooperation with Afghanistan and Pakistan, resolutely opposes all forms of terrorism, and “opposes the ‘double standards’ of terrorism support and counter-terrorism.”
According to the report, the three parties agreed to restart the dialogue mechanism under the framework of the Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue, strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, agriculture, poverty reduction, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, promote cooperation in the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, support the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan, and promote the development of the three countries and regions. Interconnection, improve the cross-border trade system, and enhance the economic integration of the three countries.
The Financial Times reported on the 7th that since the Taliban (Taliban) took power in 2021, it has been seeking investment from global powers including China and Russia to prop up the faltering economy and ease the international isolation of the regime, including actively attracting China in Local infrastructure investment and connecting Afghanistan with neighboring countries such as Pakistan through the “One Belt, One Road” initiative.
On the other hand, China has also invested billions of dollars in Pakistan through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which includes a network of roads, trains and ports that are under construction and are expected to end up worth as much as $60 billion.
A Pakistani official told the Financial Times the idea was to involve Afghanistan in the economic activities that already link China and Pakistan.
In January this year, the Afghan government agreed to China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Natural Gas Company (CAPEIC) to drill for oil in the country. The Afghan government also reached an agreement with Russia last year to purchase oil and wheat.
Some analysts pointed out that both China and Pakistan believe that maintaining contact with the Taliban is crucial to the security of China and Pakistan.
Yue Xiaoyong, special envoy of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Afghan affairs, recently stated that China has no intention of recognizing the Taliban government in Afghanistan in the short term, and hopes that the Taliban will put into practice their promise not to use the territory of Afghanistan to “launch attacks against other countries”.
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