Wang Yi: All Parties Should Help Afghanistan Tackle the "Four Challenges"

On September 23, 2021, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Permanent Members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council and the UN Secretary-General in Beijing via video link. All parties discussed the Afghan issue, during which Wang Yi elaborated on China's stance.

Noting that the situation in Afghanistan has so far undergone fundamental changes, Wang Yi said, the world should give the Afghan people a chance to take their destiny into their own hands and independently explore a governance model that suits the national conditions of Afghanistan, so as to truly materialize the "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned" principle. All parties should help Afghanistan tackle the "four challenges":

The first is the humanitarian challenge. First of all, 14 million Afghans are facing a food crisis, which calls for an urgent action. Second, we must deal with the possible influx of refugees, and should not place the burden of hosting refugees from Afghanistan solely on the shoulders of the country's neighbors. Given the risk that COVID-19 may spread in Afghanistan at an accelerated speed, it is important to urgently provide more anti-pandemic and emergency supplies. China endorses the flash appeal for humanitarian assistance launched by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and stands ready to work with all parties to implement the outcome of the Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan in Geneva. China has announced to urgently provide Afghanistan with 200 million yuan worth of assistance, mostly food, materials for winter, medicines and COVID-19 vaccines, and decided to donate the first three million doses of vaccines to the Afghan people.

The second is the counter-terrorism challenge. The changes in the situation in Afghanistan have provoked terrorist forces into making trouble. A number of recent bombings have indicated a greater possibility that terrorist organizations are taking advantage of the situation to strengthen themselves. We must make counter-terrorism a top priority and urge Afghanistan to effectively break off all of its relations with all kinds of international terrorism and not to become a shelter for and diffusion source of terrorist activities again.

The third is the economic challenge. Afghanistan currently needs to rebuild itself, and economic and social reconstruction is in dire need of capital inputs and human resources. Offshore assets of Afghanistan belong to Afghanistan and should be used to improve the well-being of the Afghan people, rather than being further frozen unreasonably or used as a bargaining chip to exert pressure on the country. It is necessary for the international community, especially developed countries and international financial institutions, to increase their inputs in Afghanistan's post-war reconstruction and economic development.

The fourth is the political challenge. We should encourage and guide the Afghan Taliban to unite all ethnic groups and parties, build a broad and inclusive political structure, pursue moderate and prudent domestic and foreign policies, and establish and develop friendly relations with other countries. It is up to the Afghan people to decide what path Afghanistan should take in the future. At the same time, Afghanistan should also abide by the UN Charter and fulfill its due obligations under international law.