Chinese envoy meets Mullah Baradar, assures assistance to Afghanistan

Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu, on Thursday, met with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the acting deputy Prime Minister of Taliban-led government, and expressed his willingness to continue assistance to the country and help it realise its economic reconstruction.

Yu said that China has never interfered in Afghanistan's internal affairs to seek selfish gains. He said that China pursues a friendly policy for all Afghan people and supports Afghanistan's efforts for stability and reconstruction, the Chinese tabloid newspaper Global Times reported.

Baradar said Afghanistan is committed to promoting friendly bilateral relations with China in various fields.

Earlier in October, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had met with Baradar in Doha, Qatar, and said that China supports the Afghan people to independently decide their country's destiny and choose their own development path.

Wang had expressed hope that the Taliban will further demonstrate openness and tolerance, unite all ethnic groups and factions in the country to work together for peaceful reconstruction.

During the meeting, the Chinese FM had urged the US and the West to lift sanctions on the country.

Since the Taliban took over Kabul in August, it has sought wider international recognition. China is among the very few countries which seem to have started engaging with the outfit.

( With inputs from ANI )