The US policy in Afghanistan is “unworkable” and doomed to fail, China said on Tuesday, hours after the last American troops left the war-torn country, leaving in its trail chaos and a Taliban-controlled Kabul.
The US withdrawal shows that the policy of arbitrary military intervention and imposition of one’s values and social systems on other countries is doomed to fail,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said.
“Afghanistan has gotten rid of foreign military occupation. The Afghan people have ushered in a new starting point for national peace and reconstruction. The history of Afghanistan has opened a new page,” Wang said.
Wang did not directly answer a question on whether China will recognise the Taliban government following US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Responding to the question, Wang said China hopes Afghanistan will form a widely representative government and pursue a moderate domestic and foreign policy.
“The history and reality of Afghanistan have shown that the achievement of peace, stability and economic development requires an open and inclusive political structure… and to sever all connections to all terrorist organisations,” Wang said.
Wang added that China will continue to maintain close communication with all parties in Afghanistan, saying Beijing will “provide support and assistance within its capacity in order to restore peace, rebuild the economy, combat all terrorist organisations including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement and integrate into the international community”.
Earlier, China and Russia abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution requiring the Taliban to honour its commitment to let people freely leave Afghanistan. The resolution was passed with 13 votes in favour.
Explaining the reason for abstaining, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Geng Shuang, said Beijing doubts the urgency of adopting the resolution and the balance of the content of the draft.
China, however, participated in the consultations and both Beijing and Moscow made crucial and reasonable suggestions to the resolution, but their suggestions were not fully adopted, Geng added.