Taliban govt says will not allow any force to use Afghan territory against China

Beijing: The Taliban interim government of Afghanistan on Wednesday assured Beijing that it will not allow “any force” to use country's territory against China.

The Afghan side attaches great importance to China's security concerns and will never allow any force to use Afghan territory to engage in activities that harm China, Afghanistan's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi during their meeting here.

Afghanistan is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in the security field, combat violent crimes, safeguard China's interests in Afghanistan, and jointly maintain regional security and stability, Muttaqi told Wang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry press release here said.

Muttaqi, who also attended an informal tripartite meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday, met Wang separately and discussed bilateral issues.

China was one of the early countries to continue diplomatic relations with Taliban government after it captured power in 2021.

Afghanistan shares a narrow strip of territory called Wakhan corridor connecting Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province with China’s volatile Xinjiang province where Beijing has launched a crackdown on the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which allegedly maintains links with the Islamic State and Al-Qaida.

Muttaqi told Wang that the Afghan interim government values the traditional friendship with China and places Beijing in an important position in its foreign policy.

The Afghan government will continue to firmly abide by the one-China principle and oppose interference in China's internal affairs, he said.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party, welcomed Muttaqi's visit to China on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Afghanistan.

China respects Afghanistan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the independent choices made by the Afghan people, Wang said, noting that China will, as always, support the government of Afghanistan in achieving long-term peace and stability in the country at an early date.