International community should 'guide' Taliban in Afghanistan, says China

Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday that China's foreign minister Wang Yi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on call on Sunday that international community should engage and "positively guide" the Taliban.

According to a statement, Wang Yi said that Washington should work with the international community to provide economic and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, help the new regime run governmental functions normally, maintain social stability, and stop the currency from depreciating and the cost of living from rising,

"While respecting the sovereignty of Afghanistan, the US should take concrete action to help Afghanistan fight terrorism and stop violence, rather than playing double standards or fighting terrorism selectively," Wang said, warning that the "hasty withdrawal" could allow terrorist groups to "regroup and come back stronger."

China's state television said that the call was made at the invitation of Washington.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that both Blinken and Wang spoke about "the importance of the international community holding the Taliban accountable for the public commitments they have made regarding the safe passage and freedom to travel for Afghans and foreign nationals."

US officials had argued before the chaos of past two weeks that troop withdrawal from Afghanistan would free up time of senior US political and military leaders and help them focus their attention on the Indo-Pacific and challenge posed by China.

But China's state-controlled media have seized on the often chaotic pullout, portraying US support for allies as fickle.

China has not officially recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan's new rulers, but Wang Yi last month hosted Mullah Baradar, chief of the group's political office, and has said the world should guide and support the country as it transitions to a new government instead of putting more pressure on it.

Wang earlier told Blinken in a call on Aug. 16 that the hasty pullout of U.S. troops from Afghanistan had a "serious negative impact," but pledged to work with Washington to promote stability in the country.

But Wang said Washington could not expect China's cooperation if it was also trying to "contain and suppress China and harm China's legitimate rights and interests," Chinese state media reported at the time of the earlier call.

(With inputs from agencies)