(ConservativeHub.com) – China and the United States have had a contentious relationship spanning decades. However, tensions have increased in recent years, beginning with former President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach to foreign policy. President Joe Biden has adopted a similar tactic, and now China seems to be expanding its alliances with other countries, including Afghanistan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying spoke out about Afghanistan during a press conference on Monday, August 16. Asked about the Taliban’s recent takeover of Kabul, Chunying stated that China has consistently respected Afghanistan’s “sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.” It also has a long-standing practice of staying out of the country’s internal affairs.
Continuing, Chunying said China respects the right of the Afghan people to decide their future, and Beijing hoped to continue its “friendly” relations with Afghanistan and “play a constructive role” in its “reconstruction.”
China is ready to deepen “friendly and cooperative” relations with Afghanistan, a government spokeswoman said Monday. https://t.co/OtS7Z6UynZ
— The Japan Times (@japantimes) August 16, 2021
Chunying also confirmed that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with a delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder of Afghanistan’s Taliban and current head of its political committee. That meeting reportedly took place in Tianjin, a major port city in northeastern China, on July 28.
Additionally, China reached out to North Korea earlier this summer to affirm its commitment to the 1961 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance. China appears concerned about regional stability and could be looking to consolidate friendly relations with its neighbors. North Korea lies to its east and Afghanistan to the west.
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