Taleban Delegation Visits China for the First Time... "US Airstrikes Violate Peace Agreement"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Taliban delegation, an armed insurgent group in Afghanistan, has attracted international attention by visiting China for the first time and holding talks with Wang Yi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Taliban delegation recently stated that the US airstrikes against the Taliban violated the peace agreement, and there is keen interest in how their contact with China will affect future negotiations with the US and the Afghan government.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong on the 28th, the Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, known as the co-founder of the Taliban, held talks with Wang Yi in Tianjin, China. This is the first time a senior Taliban official has visited China.

Earlier, Wang Yi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, reportedly held bilateral peace talks after stating in meetings with Afghan and Pakistani representatives last month that "the Taliban will be restored as the political mainstream of Afghanistan." The SCMP reported that during this meeting, the Taliban delegation strongly condemned the recent US airstrikes against the Taliban as a "violation of the peace agreement from February last year."

The SCMP analyzed that China's main concern in this meeting was the expansion of Taliban forces within Afghanistan and the potential spread of Islamic forces in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which is causing concern. Yan Wei, a professor of international relations at Northwest University in China, told the SCMP in an interview, "Whether the Taliban becomes the de facto government in Afghanistan or not, it is a key force influencing Afghanistan's political development and security. China can impose certain restrictions on other Islamic terrorist organizations operating in Xinjiang and elsewhere through the Taliban, which would be beneficial to China's security and regional stability."