ភាពចលាចលនៅអាហ្វហ្គានីស្ថានចងចិននិងរុស្ស៊ីកាន់តែជិត

- Top diplomats of Beijing and Moscow pledge to protect interests in Afghanistan and urge the Taliban to cut terror links.

- Western efforts to divide ‘trustworthy, reliable and invincible’ partners will not succeed, Chinese foreign minister says of Russia ties.

Foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia (left) and Wang Yi of China meet in the Chinese city of Guilin on March 22. In a phone call on Monday, the top diplomats pledged to work together to protect national interests in Afghanistan. Photo: AFP

The swift fall of Kabul has pushed China and Russia to strengthen their alliance, with both sides pledging to work together to protect their interests in Afghanistan.

Safeguarding China’s business interests in Afghanistan and preventing a spillover of conflict into its far western region of Xinjiang are priorities for Beijing, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in a phone call on Monday, after the Taliban takeover of the Afghan capital signalled the end of a 20-year US era.

The two top diplomats also pledged to boost bilateral relations – describing ties as unshakeable and surpassing other alliances made during the Cold War era – in a pointed comment targeting the US.

Wang, also a state councillor of China, said the sudden collapse of the US-backed Afghan government had been“inevitable” and was proof of the failure of American hegemony.

“It has been the international consensus that this ending has its inner logic and inevitability, and proves that military intervention and hegemony are unpopular [courses of action] and doomed to fail,” Wang was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday.

In a separate phone call on Monday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Wang said Beijing was willing to work with Washington to achieve a “soft landing” for Afghanistan.

The Taliban seized Kabul on Sunday, the speed of their victory stunning the world and prompting the frenzied evacuation of diplomats and citizens by the United States and several other countries.

Both China and Russia have kept their embassies open and said they will continue operations in Afghanistan.

“Under the new situation, China and Russia must strengthen strategic communication and coordination, firstly to safeguard the rightful interests of China and Russia in Afghanistan, ensure timely communication, [and] support each other,” Wang told Lavrov.

The two powers will make sure that the Taliban provides security guarantees for Chinese and Russian personnel and investments, and will also encourage the insurgent group to implement a “moderate and stable religious policy” and maintain friendly ties with its neighbours.

They reiterated that the Taliban must cut ties with other terrorist groups, in particular the East Turkestan Islamic Movement – blamed by Beijing for attacks in its Xinjiang region.

“The new regime in Afghanistan must cut ties with all international terrorist groups, restrain and crack down on terrorist forces including the ETIM, and prevent Afghanistan from becoming the hub of terrorist and extremist forces again,” said Wang.

Fu Xiaoqiang, vice-president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of State Security, said security concerns remain for Chinese investments and China should work with other powers in steering the Taliban regime towards building a “a normal country that is neutral, peaceful and safe”.

“It is important that [the international community] steer the new Afghan regime towards abandoning violence and post-war reconstructions through international exchanges,” Fu said in an article posted on the institute’s official WeChat account on Tuesday.

“We can anticipate that for a considerably long period of time, the security situation in Afghanistan would not be optimistic, with the main challenges being the persisting threat of international terrorism, continuing chaos in Afghanistan’s domestic situation, and the challenges in international cooperation.”

A statement from the Russian foreign ministry said the two diplomats exchanged views on possibilities for closer foreign policy coordination, including within the United Nations.

Wang made the same appeal during high-profile talks in late July with a Taliban delegation led by the group’s chief negotiator and co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, held in the northern city of Tianjin.

During Monday’s phone call, Wang also said ties between Beijing and Moscow will continue to deepen, with cooperation spanning geopolitics and the military, and cautioned that Western powers were trying to drive a wedge between the two nations.

“China and Russia are trustworthy, reliable and invincible strategic cooperation partners. Some Western forces are trying to drive a wedge between our two nations. Such efforts will not succeed,” Wang told Lavrov.

A statement from the Chinese foreign ministry quoted Lavrov as saying that bilateral relations have surpassed any political and military alliance made during the Cold War era.

Wang added that China and Russia should jointly defend historical truths, human dignity and the achievements of World War II. This came after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Sunday sent offerings to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine to mark the 76th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in the war.

The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Wang discussed a schedule of future exchanges and efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In view of the upcoming anniversary of the end of World War II, special attention was focused on closer coordination of efforts to counter attempts at falsifying its history and revising its results. The ministers agreed to organise joint events dedicated to the two countries’ fight against the Nazis and militarists,” the ministry said.

SCMP