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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Taliban sect co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in China’s Tiajin city. The move comes weeks after the final withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, signaling China’s political recognition of the Taliban.
The photo in which Wang Yi poses with Ghani, shows a cordial and close posture; the meeting comes at a time when the Taliban movement is seeking international legitimacy, as Taliban factions dominate or have a presence in about 2/3 of the country.
At the meeting, Wang Yi stated that Beijing respected Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity, and reiterated that China adheres to a policy of non-interference in a country’s internal affairs. The Chinese minister also added that the withdrawal of NATO forces are “the failure of America’s policies and offers to the Afghan people and an opportunity to stabilize and develop their own country.”
Wang Yi went so far as to say that “the Taliban are a fundamental political and military force in Afghanistan and are expected to play an important role in the process of peace, reconciliation and reconstruction.”
Taliban gaining influence
No agenda was announced after the meetings; however, China has an interest in the Taliban continuing negotiations with the government of Ashraf Ghani, who enjoys less and less power in the country he is supposed to rule.
Ghani’s loss of authority has become more than evident both in Afghanistan and abroad, in the country paramilitary movements have emerged to fight the Taliban who ignore Ghani, but increasingly influence the armed forces; while abroad, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, sent a minute to the Afghan president where he subtly informed him that his influence and control of the country was minimal.
The ineffectiveness of democracy in Afghanistan is evident, for the last elections, less than 18.3% of the population showed up at the polls. The governors of several provinces have deals with the Taliban, while the army is losing more and more ground to the offensive of the Islamic radicals.
The visible fight against the Taliban has begun to be embodied in the figure of Mujahideen General Atta Mohammad, who has turned the city of Mazar-i-Shariff into a focus of resistance to the Taliban.
China moves on Afghanistan as part of internal security strategy
Although Beijing has not expressed support for any of the warring factions, the Tianjin meeting indicates that the Chinese regime will favor the interests of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
In an interview by El American with former CIA contractor Ron Aledo, he confirmed that China would capitalize on the power vacuum left by the United States in Afghanistan and begin to be the hegemonic power over the Muslim country.
China has an interest in maintaining some control and influence over Afghanistan, fearing that the Afghan jihad will begin to spread to its Muslim-dominated regions, such as the once volatile Xianjiang region, where Xi Jinping’s regime represses the Uighur ethnic group with an iron fist.
Economist, writer and liberal. With a focus on finance, the war on drugs, history, and geopolitics // Economista, escritor y liberal. Con enfoque en finanzas, guerra contra las drogas, historia y geopolítica