China Demands World Recognize and Fund the Taliban

The government of China concluded a meeting on Thursday of regional governments to discuss how to handle the rise of the Taliban jihadist organization in Afghanistan, concluding the world should recognize the “Afghan interim government” and “inject liquidity” into the country.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, following the conclusion of the meeting, that “diplomatic recognition of the Afghan government will be an act of following the natural course,” referring to the Taliban jihadist organization, and that the “Afghan nation also has the right to stand among the nations of the world on an equal footing.”

The Taliban is a Sunni jihadist organization with ties to international terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. Its initial rule in Afghanistan ended after the United States invaded the country following the attacks on the homeland on September 11, 2001. It returned to power in August 2021 after President Joe Biden chose to break an agreement with the terrorists brokered by President Donald Trump that would have seen the 20-year war end in May with the U.S.-backed government remaining in control.
No credible entities have contested the Taliban’s claim to being the government of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” yet no state power has recognized them as such at press time. China is among the nations that have taken to calling the Taliban an “interim” or “caretaker” government without formal recognition. This week, the government of Russia – which has designated the Taliban a terrorist organization – revealed that it had formally accredited a Taliban envoy in February.

China’s “Foreign Ministers’ Meeting among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan” featured the top diplomats of Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and Qatar. A representative of the United States was in Anhui province, China, where the meeting took place, but did not partake in the central event. A representative of the Taliban, “Foreign Minister” Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, did participate in the meeting.

China’s state-run Global Times reported on Friday that the countries participating agreed on “eight points,” among them “recognizing the governance efforts of the Afghan interim government, supporting Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction and independent development,” and “urging the US and the West to unfreeze Afghan assets.” The group also called for non-American international actors to “inject liquidity” into Afghanistan’s economy.

Wang, China’s foreign minister, said that the Taliban would happen upon international recognition as a government in a “natural” way and praised the terrorist organization for its performance so far.

“Wang said since the establishment of the Afghan Interim Government [the Taliban], it has made a lot of efforts to stabilize the situation and exercise governance, with certain results having been achieved,” the state-run Global Times reported. “During the dialogue and exchanges, the Afghan side introduced its determination to realize self-generated development, expressed its desire to gain more understanding and support from neighboring countries and the international community, and demonstrated a positive attitude toward conducting foreign exchanges.”

Wang urged the Taliban terorrists to “make more progress in promoting national reconciliation” and build “a more inclusive government.”

Both the Taliban and the Chinese Communist Party have expressed enthusiastic interest in financial cooperation. Taliban leaders have repeatedly said the terrorists seek a key role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global predatory loan program that China uses to gain influence in impoverished countries by building cost-prohibitive infrastructure projects.

“Afghanistan supports China’s major Belt and Road Initiative and is keen to see Afghanistan play a useful role in regional integration through this project,” Muttaqi said upon landing in China this week.

On Thursday, the Taliban “minister of mines and petroleum” met with a representative of a Chinese government contractor in Afghanistan to discuss copper mine development.

Taliban leaders have encouraged Chinese investment in the country since their takeover in August.

“China, our great neighboring country, can have a constructive and positive role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and also in the economic development and prosperity of the people of Afghanistan,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said shortly after the seizure of Kabul. “It is expected [that] China [will] play its role.”

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping did not attend the meeting in Anhui province – Xi has largely abstained from routine public appearances indoors since the Chinese coronavirus pandemic began – but sent a written note to the participants encouraging the world to welcome the Taliban to its fold.

“Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on the neighboring countries of Afghanistan to do their best to support the Afghan people to create a brighter future,” the Chinese government Xinhua News Agency reported. “Xi pointed out that having gone through so much in the past, Afghanistan is in urgent need of development in many areas. The country has come to a critical point of transition from chaos to order.”

“China always respects Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and has committed to supporting its pursuit of peace, stability and development,” Xi reportedly said.