China has said it will respect the “choices” of the Afghan people, in the first sign that Beijing was ready to give its cautious support to a Taliban-led government in Kabul.
“The situation in Afghanistan has already undergone a major transformation and we respect the wishes and choices of the Afghan people,” said Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, in Beijing’s first official comments since the Taliban swept into Kabul.
The remarks followed an editorial published by Global Times, a state-backed nationalist tabloid, that called the 20-year US effort to reshape Afghanistan a “complete failure” and said the Taliban’s return to power was a “heavy blow” to US credibility.