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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Kabul unannounced and held talks with the Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and others leaders, his first visit since the militant group seized power last year.
“Important issues” related to joint efforts in alleviating the country’s humanitarian crisis and improving bilateral trade were on the agenda, the Taliban’s deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi said by phone from Kabul.
The last time the senior Chinese diplomat visited Afghanistan was in 2018 to meet with the former American-backed president Ashraf Ghani. Wang landed in Kabul from Islamabad Thursday where he attended a two-day meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. He’s expected to visit New Delhi on Friday.
Beijing has embraced the Taliban’s return to rule in Afghanistan, a diplomatic approach that could allow it to tap into the nation’s vast mineral resources and give China a target for expanding its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The militant group is hoping for Chinese help to gain international legitimacy.
His visit follows the recent high-level visits of Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to the country. These countries have maintained strong ties with the Taliban and were among the first to offer humanitarian help to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is facing deep financial and humanitarian crises after international aid, which accounted for more than 40% of the country’s GDP, halted after the Taliban takeover. The United Nations has warned that a million children could die from malnutrition and as much as 97% of the population could be living in poverty by mid-2022, up from about 72% in 2020.
The foreign minister’s visit comes amid China’s state-owned Metallurgical of China Ltd, or MCC, agreeing to visit Kabul later this month to discuss the possibility of restarting operations at Afghanistan’s largest copper mine Mes Aynak in Logar province. MCC’s operations had been stalled mainly due to security issues.
Investments from China in Afghanistan’s rich mineral resources are essential to help rebuild the country. The country’s minerals estimated to be $3 trillion include copper, iron, gold, lithium and oil and gas deposits.
(By Eltaf Najafizada, with assistance from Jing Li)
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