Wang Yi Talks about Diplomatic Recognition of the Afghan Interim Government

On March 31, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi chaired the Third Foreign Ministers' Meeting on the Afghan Issue Among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan and the First Meeting of "Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan Plus Afghanistan" Foreign Ministers' Dialogue in Tunxi, Anhui Province. After the meetings, Wang Yi held a press conference to introduce the important consensus and achievements of the meetings, and answered questions from reporters.

In response to a reporter's question about whether China considers diplomatic recognition of the Afghan Taliban's Interim Government, Wang Yi said that diplomatic recognition is a key concern of the Afghan Interim Government and a common concern of the international community. As a traditional friendly neighbor of Afghanistan, China always believes that Afghanistan should not become a failed country, let alone be excluded from the international community. Afghanistan has been suffering from war for many years and has lagged behind world development. This situation should not continue. The Afghan people have the right to live a peaceful life with enough food and clothing, and the Afghan nation also has the right to stand among the nations of the world on an equal footing.

Wang Yi said, we have noticed that since the establishment of the Afghan Interim Government, it has made a lot of efforts to stabilize the situation and exercise governance, with certain results having been achieved. During the dialogue and exchanges, the Afghan side introduced its determination to realize self-generated development, expressed its desire to gain more understanding and support from neighboring countries and the international community, and demonstrated a positive attitude toward conducting foreign exchanges. At the same time, we also noticed that the international community, including neighboring countries, still has many concerns and expectations for the Afghan Interim Government. It is hoped that the Afghan Interim Government will complete the role transformation at an early date, and make more progress in promoting national reconciliation, building a more inclusive government, and guaranteeing women's rights to employment and children's rights to education, among others. It's hoped that the Afghan Interim Government will adopt a firmer attitude in combating terrorism in particular, and produce more visible results.

Wang Yi said, from an objective perspective, unremitting efforts are still needed to solve the above problems. China believes that with a stronger response to the concerns of all parties, diplomatic recognition of the Afghan government will be an act of following the natural course. We hope and expect that the Afghan Interim Government will take solid steps and make practical efforts in this right direction.