“On the basis of fully respecting the sovereignty of Afghanistan and the will of all factions in the country, China has maintained contact and communication with the Afghan Taliban and played a constructive role in promoting the political settlement of the Afghan issue”.
August 16, 2021
Hua Chunying : The situation in Afghanistan has undergone major changes. We respect the will and choice of the Afghan people. The war in Afghanistan has been dragging on for over 40 years. To stop the war and realize peace is the shared aspiration of the more than 30 million Afghan people and the common expectation of the international community and countries in the region.
China has noted that the Afghan Taliban said yesterday that the war in Afghanistan is over and that they will hold talks aimed at forming an open, inclusive Islamic government in Afghanistan and take responsible actions to protect the safety of Afghan citizens and foreign diplomatic missions. China hopes these remarks can be implemented so as to ensure a smooth transition of the situation in Afghanistan, keep at bay all kinds of terrorism and criminal acts, and make sure that the Afghan people stay away from war and can rebuild their homeland.
On the basis of fully respecting the sovereignty of Afghanistan and the will of all factions in the country, China has maintained contact and communication with the Afghan Taliban and played a constructive role in promoting the political settlement of the Afghan issue. On July 28, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the visiting delegation led by head of the Afghan Taliban political committee Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Tianjin.
We hope the Afghan Taliban can form solidarity with all factions and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, and build a broad-based and inclusive political structure suited to the national realities, so as to lay the foundation for achieving enduring peace in the country.
The Afghan Taliban said on multiple occasions that it hopes to grow sound relations with China, looks forward to China’s participation in Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development and will never allow any force to use the Afghan territory to engage in acts detrimental to China. We welcome those statements. China has all along respected Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, adhered to non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs and pursued a friendly policy toward the entire Afghan people. China respects the Afghan people’s right to decide on their own future independently. We are ready to continue to develop good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation with Afghanistan and play a constructive role in Afghanistan’s peace and reconstruction.
The Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan is still operating normally. The Chinese Ambassador and embassy staff are fulfilling their duties. Most of the Chinese nationals in Afghanistan have already returned to China thanks to the arrangement of the embassy. For those few people who chose to stay, the embassy is in close contact with them. They are all safe and sound so far. The Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan will continue to follow closely the developments of the situation in Afghanistan and provide necessary service and assistance to every Chinese citizen there.
We noted that the Afghan Taliban said yesterday that the war in Afghanistan is over and that they will take responsible actions to protect the safety of Afghan citizens and foreign diplomatic missions. We hope they will act on what they said and make sure that the Afghan people will stay away from war and start rebuilding their homeland.
On the basis of fully respecting the sovereignty of Afghanistan and the will of all factions in the country, China has maintained contact and communication with the Afghan Taliban and played a constructive role in promoting the political settlement of the Afghan issue. We hope the Afghan Taliban can form solidarity with all factions and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, and build a broad-based and inclusive political structure suited to the national realities, so as to lay the foundation for achieving enduring peace in the country. The Afghan Taliban said on multiple occasions that it hopes to grow sound relations with China and will never allow any force to use the Afghan territory to engage in acts detrimental to China. We welcome those statements.
China has all along adhered to non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs and pursued a friendly policy toward the entire Afghan people. China respects the Afghan people’s right to decide on their own future independently. They have such rights. We are ready to continue to develop good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation with Afghanistan and play a constructive role in Afghanistan’s peace and reconstruction.
As I said just now, the Afghan Taliban said it will take responsible actions to protect the safety of Afghan citizens and foreign diplomatic missions. I also said just now that Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan and diplomatic staffs are sticking to their posts and fulfilling their duties. I don’t know the specific numbers of Chinese nationals in Afghanistan you asked for. But I can tell you that most Chinese citizens have safely returned to China with the help of the embassy. The few people who chose to stay in Afghanistan are still in the country. The embassy has kept close contact with them and they are all safe so far. The Chinese embassy to Afghanistan will keep closely following and focusing on the development of the situation in Afghanistan. The embassy has also asked relevant parties of Afghanistan to take concrete measure to ensure the safety and security of Chinese institutions and people.
