China hosts virtual meeting on Afghanistan, urges funds abroad be unfrozen

Gulf Today Report

China says it will host a virtual meeting of Central and South Asian state leaders to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

The meeting of members of the China and Russia dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is scheduled for Thursday.

Meanwhile, China says it is maintaining contact between its embassy in Afghanistan and the Taliban and is calling for Afghan government funds held abroad to be unfrozen.

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Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Wednesday said the Chinese Embassy in Kabul was "operating normally."

"We stand ready to maintain communication with the new Afghan authority,” Zhao said.

A view of Shanghai: China has used the Shanghai Cooperation to boost its standing in Central Asia.

Afghanistan is an observer member of the grouping, but it wasn’t clear if any representatives from the Taliban leadership would be attending.

China has yet to say whether it will recognise the Taliban government, but has been actively courting its top officials, hosting a delegation led by its political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in July, shortly before the group swept to power amid the withdrawal of US forces and the mass exodus of Afghans fearing a return of the Taliban’s hard-line rule.

The government and state media have accused the United States of destabilising Afghanistan through what it calls a hasty and chaotic withdrawal of its troops, even as the Taliban swiftly overcame Afghan government forces over recent weeks.

China has used the Shanghai Cooperation to boost its standing in Central Asia through political dialogue and joint military exercises, aimed largely at diminishing US influence in the region.