FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
China Delegation To Provide Full Support for Afghanistan Peace Process
Aug. 9, 2018 (EIRNS)—The office of Mohammad Hanif Atmar, National Security Advisor to the Afghan President, announced today that a high-level delegation from China is expected to visit Afghanistan in the near future, “where it will announce Beijing’s full support for the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process,” TOLONews Agency reported.
On Aug. 8, Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Liu Jinsong said the level of distrust between the Afghan government and the Taliban is a key obstacle in the way of achieving peace in the country, and that this issue has created serious challenges. He said China has always supported peace talks, and that Beijing will “continue to facilitate the talks based on the principle of (it being) Afghan-led and Afghan-owned,” TOLONews quoted Liu as saying.
In recent years, China had attempted to broker peace between the Taliban and Kabul, including developing close contacts with some Taliban leaders. In 2016, a delegation led by Sher Abbas Stanekzai, head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, visited Beijing on July 18-22, 2016 at the invitation of the Chinese government, according to a senior member of the Taliban, reported Reuters at the time.
Again, in March 2017, Stanekzai led a five-member delegation for talks with Chinese officials. On Aug. 6, the Financial Times reported that Chinese officials had reportedly met the Afghan Taliban several times in the past year, TOLONews reported.
