Fear of terror: China publicly approaches Taliban - abstention in UN Security Council on Afghanistan

After the Taliban came to power, China fears an increase in Islamist terrorist attacks.

Beijing therefore accepts the radical Islamist government.

But this is not yet an official recognition.

Beijing / Kabul / Munich - China is considered to be one of the geopolitical winners of the new conditions in Afghanistan. In addition to Russia, the People's Republic will in future dominate the conflict region around the country in the Hindu Kush, according to many experts in the West. China *, however, has completely different concerns. It fears an increase in terror against its compatriots - both in its own, Islamic region of Xinjiang, and in its many construction projects on the New Silk Road * in Pakistan. Beijing therefore sees no choice but to come to terms with the warriors of God. China, like Russia, wants to make diplomatic recognition of its government in Kabul dependent on its future behavior.

China started its realpolitical approach with a charm offensive in the direction of Kabul.

"The Afghan people are at a new starting point for peace and reconstruction," said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Beijing Foreign Ministry, on Tuesday.

It freed itself from foreign military occupation.

The Taliban will be happy to hear this.

China - like Russia - also abstained from a UN resolution on Afghanistan at the beginning of the week.

The UN Security Council demands that the Taliban enable all people who want to leave the country to leave the country smoothly.

They must also grant humanitarian aid workers access to Afghanistan and respect the human rights of women and girls in particular.

China: abstention in the UN Security Council on Afghanistan - allegations against the USA

Russia * stated that the reason for the abstention was that the resolution was not clearly calling for the Taliban to turn away from terrorism. China's Deputy UN Ambassador Geng Shuang did not comment directly on this, but, according to a report in the

 , blamed

the hasty withdrawal of the USA in

the event that terror in the region increased again: "The hasty withdrawal foreign troops should give various terrorist organizations opportunities to make a comeback, ”said Geng.

At the same time, he demanded in the Security Council that the killing of civilians by the occupation forces should be investigated.

These included "the criminal activities of the armed forces from Australia and the US" as well as the "indiscriminate killing of civilians", Geng said at the meeting on Monday.

China had a furious exchange of blows with Australia at the end of 2020 after Foreign Office spokesman Zhao Lijian posted an apparently fake picture on Twitter showing alleged war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

Canberra then asked - in vain - an apology.

Despite everything, observers believe that cooperation between the USA and China on Afghanistan is possible. 

China: Great concern about the security situation - Taliban's military wing as a factor of uncertainty

And that is mainly due to the fact that China - even if it currently appears different to the outside world - is very concerned about the security situation in the region *. Small attacks against the Chinese and Chinese construction projects in Pakistan have increased in recent weeks. Media in the region warn against relying on pledges from the Taliban's political wing. Spokesman Suhail Shaheen, for example, had promised China that it would work together and that it would not allow its country to become a refuge for terrorists. But the military arm of the Taliban consists of hardliners who are ready to fight, who do not necessarily see China as a friend - nor do they necessarily listen to their own political leadership. Beijing should be very aware of this.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan had shown that military interventions and attempts to force values ​​and social systems on other countries are doomed to failure, said Foreign Office spokesman Wang. In doing so, Beijing is primarily supporting its own line of non-interference - which it demands from partners, but also applies in its own foreign policy *. In this sense, Beijing has no leeway to push for a change of government in Afghanistan. It would be against his own doctrine. China, however, is already sorely lacking the degree of security that the US and its allies guaranteed in Afghanistan.