In early April this year (12-13), the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Qin Gang, along with his counterparts from Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan met in Samarkand for the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries. The meeting coincided with the release of a position paper by Beijing on its policy in Afghanistan. Titled, ‘China’s position on the Afghan Issue’, the 11-point paper is important for two reasons, the first vis-à-vis China’s involvement in Afghanistan, it gives a clear indication of Beijing’s policy towards the crisis-ridden country and the areas it will prioritise in its engagement with the Taliban moving forward. Beyond Afghanistan, the paper is reflective of China’s recent efforts to refashion how it is viewed internationally — from a country bent on disrupting the current world order to one which is heavily invested in addressing ‘international hot button issues’ objectively with no motivations to further its vested interests, unlike America.
The context of the policy choices
The paper first delineates the core principles which inform Beijing’s policy choices — the ‘Three Respects’ and ‘Three Nevers’, i.e., China respects the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and the ‘independent choice’, religious sentiments and national customs of the Afghan people. These principles are put in opposition to the policies followed by the West which, according to Beijing, are informed more by geopolitics and their vested interests.
