Beijing backs bids for Kabul’s acceptance

Interim government must not be excluded from the international community, FM Wang says

China believes that the diplomatic recognition of the Afghan government will come naturally at the right time as the concerns of all parties are addressed more forcefully, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on March 31.

Wang made the remark at a news conference in Tunxi, Anhui province, after chairing the third foreign ministers’ meeting among the neighboring countries of Afghanistan and the first foreign ministers’ meeting involving the Afghan interim government and its neighbors.

Saying that diplomatic recognition is a major concern of the Afghan interim government as well as a shared concern of the international community, Wang said China always holds that Afghanistan should not become a failed state nor should it be excluded from the international community. As

Afghanistan has suffered from wars for many years and lagged behind the pace of global development, such a situation should not continue, said the Chinese foreign minister.

China has observed that the Afghan interim government has achieved certain results in stabilizing the situation and exercising governance since it took power in August, Wang said, adding that the Afghan side has demonstrated its determination to achieve development and expressed its willingness to gain more understanding and support from its neighbors and the international community.

Noting that Afghanistan has showed a positive stance of engaging with the outside world, he stressed the need for the interim government to make unremitting efforts to address the concerns of the international community.

Wang said it is hoped that the interim government will make greater progress

in promoting national reconciliation, building a more inclusive government and protecting the rights of women and children in employment and education. He added that the Afghan interim government should resolutely fight terrorism and bring about more visible results.

Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting foreign minister of the Afghan interim government, on March 31 attended the “Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan Plus Afghanistan” Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue.

Muttaqi said at the meeting that Afghanistan is committed to developing friendly relations and carrying out mutually beneficial cooperation with neighboring countries.

Neighboring countries have pledged to support Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction and practical cooperation in various areas such as humanitarian assistance, mutual connectivity and capacity building.

Wang Shida, deputy director of the Institute for South Asian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the foreign ministerial-level-talks mechanism of Afghanistan’s neighbors has pooled efforts to help Afghanistan transition from chaos to stability.

Cui Shoujun, a professor at Renmin University of China’s School of International Relations, said China’s recent intensive diplomatic activities concerning Afghanistan, including Wang’s whirlwind trip to the wartorn country on March 24, demonstrated its responsibility as a major country.