Beijing: Scoffing indirectly at a recent statement by a top ranking US official which implied that the US does not trust the Taliban, China today advised Washington that one should adopt a holistic, interconnected and developmental dialectical approach, when understanding and handling problems.
“I noticed that some people have been saying they don’t trust the Afghan Taliban. I want to say that nothing stays unchanged,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying, told reporters here.
She added: “We should look at both the past and the present. We need to not only listen to what they say, but also look at what they do. If we do not keep pace with the times, but stick to fixed mindset and ignore the development of the situation, we will never reach a conclusion that is in line with reality. In fact, the rapid evolution of the situation in Afghanistan also reveals how the outside world lacked objective judgment on the local situation and accurate understanding of the public opinion there. In this respect, some western countries in particular should learn some lessons.”
It may be mentioned that Ned Price, Department Spokesperson of the US Department of State, had stated on August 16 — a day after the Taliban took over Kabul, that “…when it comes to the Taliban, we are going to look for their actions rather than listen to their words”.
Also read: Afghanistan heading to a cultural disaster, says expert
Chunying said it is expected that the Afghan Taliban can contain all kinds of terrorist and criminal acts and ensure a smooth transition of the situation in Afghanistan to take the long-suffering Afghans away from wars and chaos as soon as possible and build lasting peace.
Responding to reports that some US media and personnel said that China is laughing at the US as it embarrassingly fled from Afghanistan, Chunying quipped: “Isn’t this a laughing stock in itself?” According to her, it was not difficult to understand that there were such views in the US. “Instead of looking for causes from within so as to get to the root of the problems, the US habitually takes every opportunity to shift blames onto others whenever it encounters problems.”
As to whether the US’ Afghanistan policy was a failure and whether US allies still thought it was reliable and credible, she said “people have their fair judgement”.
Accusing the USA for creating “difficult problems” in Afghanistan, Chunying said the process of peace and reconstruction was hard to go off smoothly since many contradictions have built up in Afghanistan. “In this process, the international community should encourage and support solidarity and cooperation of all parties and ethnic groups in Afghanistan to open a new chapter in the Afghan history,” she said.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson stated that China maintains contact and communication with the Afghan Taliban and other parties on the basis of full respect for the sovereignty of Afghanistan and the will of all parities.
She mentioned that after major changes took place in Afghanistan recently, the leaders and the spokesperson of the Afghan Taliban had said publicly through different channels that the Afghan Taliban would resolve problems the people face, meet people’s aspirations and stay committed to forming an open and inclusive Islamic government. They said the Afghan Taliban works toward equality and elimination of discrimination, and announced that former government staffs would be pardoned and women’s rights and interests would be protected, including freedom of speech, employment and access to education. The Taliban spokesperson also said, the Afghan Taliban would act responsibly to protect the security of Afghans and foreign missions in Afghanistan, build good relations with all countries and never allow anyone to use the Afghan territory to threaten other countries. China has taken note of these positive statements and signals.
Chunying said China had also noticed that some political figures of Russia and other countries and many international media have recognized Afghan Taliban’s behaviors after it entered Kabul, believing that they have been good, positive and pragmatic actions. She claimed that although the Afghan situation is not fully clear yet, they believe the Afghan Taliban will not repeat history, and the Afghan Taliban today is more clear-headed and rational than it was in power last time.”
“We encourage and hope the Afghan Taliban can follow through its positive statements, unite with all parties and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, establish an broadly-based, inclusive political framework that fits the national conditions and wins public support through dialogue and consultation as soon as possible, and adopt moderate and prudent domestic and foreign policies,” she said.
– global bihari bureau
