Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, acting deputy prime minister of the Afghan Taliban's interim government, in Doha, Qatar, on Oct. 25, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on countries neighboring Afghanistan to take coordinated action to expand economic and trade exchanges with the country, stressing that more multilateral coordination and efforts are needed to help stabilize Afghanistan. 

Wang’s remarks were consistent with what he said in Tianjin and Doha. It is more comprehensive, which shows that China’s policies toward Afghanistan are clearer but experts said it doesn’t imply recognition of the Afghan Taliban government.

“Afghanistan is in need of revival on all fronts, and development is the top priority … As its neighbors, we need to take coordinated and robust actions to steadily increase economic and trade exchanges with Afghanistan, explore infrastructure connectivity, and help Afghanistan take part in Belt and Road cooperation,” Wang said during a video conference for the Second Meeting of Foreign Ministers of The Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan on Wednesday. 

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund also need to consider how to resume financing support for Afghanistan to help the country embark on a path of sound development, Wang noted. 

In a joint statement, ministers agreed that countries primarily responsible for Afghanistan should earnestly deliver on their commitment and provide Afghanistan with urgently needed economic, livelihood and humanitarian assistance to help realize a stable transition.

Recently, there has been a trend in the US and the West to let regional countries clean up the mess in Afghanistan.

China is ready to host the third foreign ministers' meeting at an appropriate time, Wang noted in his remarks. China will hold the third round of the Afghanistan meeting in 2022, according to the joint statement. 

Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times on Thursday that clearer and concrete policies toward the Afghanistan situation were rolled out in Wang’s remarks, such as increasing economic and trade exchanges with Afghanistan and exploring infrastructure connectivity, as well as helping Afghanistan take part in the Belt and Road cooperation. 

China’s advocacy offers a blueprint on how to help the country to develop, but joint efforts by neighboring countries are essential to help Afghanistan shift from turbulence to order, Zhu said. 

Zhu noted that while the US shirks its responsibility to clean up the mess, neighboring countries are playing very positive roles to realize a stable transition of the situation, but it still doesn’t imply recognition of the Afghan Taliban government.

Wang Shida, deputy director of the South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania Research Institute of Contemporary International Relations Research Academy of China, told the Global Times in an earlier interview that after communication, regional countries may recognize the Afghan Taliban government in a collective way or in line with one another.

Wang stressed at the meeting that the world should attach importance to the opportunity for the Afghan interim government to be adaptable and shapeable, and should talk with it in a rational and pragmatic way to increase mutual trust and exert positive influence. We need to encourage Afghanistan to take a broad-based and inclusive political stance, adopt moderate and prudent domestic and foreign policies and resolutely fight terrorism, Wang stated. 

As a responsible major country and Afghanistan’s neighbor, China has all along been playing a constructive role on the Afghanistan issue. At the first foreign ministers' meeting, China announced 200 million yuan ($31million) worth of emergency humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. 

The first batch of supplies arrived in Kabul and the delivery of more is underway. China will continue to provide support and help to Afghans to the best of its capability, Yi said.