As Afghanistan's economy deteriorated, China offered to assist the Taliban in "rebuild the country" while reiterating calls for the US to withdraw sanctions against the country's new leaders.
On Monday (October 25), during the first high-level meeting between Beijing and the Taliban since it formed an interim government in September, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered the remarks to a Taliban team in Doha, Qatar.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency, Mr. Wang said the international community should cooperate with the Taliban "in a rational and pragmatic manner."
According to Xinhua, China "supports the efforts to restore stability and rebuild the country."
According to Xinhua, the senior Chinese ambassador also said the Taliban should "demonstrate openness and tolerance," unite all ethnic groups and preserve women's and children's rights.
Mr. Wang expressed confidence in the Taliban government's ability to effectively combat the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and other terrorist organizations that represent a threat to China's national security.
China has mainly welcomed the Taliban's return to power and has signaled a desire to cooperate with the new leadership on several occasions.
A stable Afghanistan may pave the way for the development of the country's vast mineral wealth and give Beijing's Belt and Road infrastructure program a boost.
China also hopes that the Taliban would help contain radical Islamic terrorists who pose a threat to Chinese interests at home and abroad.
The Taliban government's acting deputy prime minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, said the group sought to enhance collaboration with Beijing in numerous spheres. No one or any entity would be allowed to exploit Afghan land to threaten China.
Mr. Raffaello Pantucci, the senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in the United Kingdom, believes China's unwillingness to provide specifics on humanitarian help indicates that "they are still not really committing,"
"Beijing is mostly focused on ensuring that there is a functional government in Kabul," he said. "They worry that the economic crisis, humanitarian crisis and potentially escalating security crisis could tip into a mess which they are going to be stuck with."
Mr. Wang is in Qatar for two days before heading to Europe to visit Italy, Albania, Serbia, and Greece.
