China courted Afghan Taliban in secret meetings Like the US, Beijing has talked to militants in a bid to end long-running conflict Taliban militants on the outskirts of Jalalabad in Afghanistan. Beijing is making a concerted push to engage with the Islamist group © AFP Share on Twitter (opens new window) Share on Facebook (opens new window) Share on LinkedIn (opens new window) Save Save to myFT Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad, Kiran Stacey in New Delhi and Emily Feng in Beijing AUGUST 6, 2018 Print this page10 Chinese officials have met the Afghan Taliban several times in the past year, figures in the Pakistan government told the Financial Times, as Beijing seeks to play an important role in ending the 17-year conflict in Afghanistan. People involved in facilitating the talks said Beijing had made a concerted push to engage with the Taliban, going as far as inviting senior members of the Islamist group to China.
“The Chinese took great care in making those arrangements,” said one Pakistani official who had been briefed on the trip. Islamabad has acted as a broker for the Taliban, helping to set up negotiations with both China and the US. “The [Taliban] visitors to Beijing got to visit a mosque and eat ‘halal’ food,” the person said. “The Chinese have been trying for some time to urge the Taliban to negotiate, but the meetings were also meant to showcase China’s progress and its tolerance of Muslims.” Beijing’s foreign ministry did not deny the talks. A spokesperson said: “China steadfastly supports ‘Afghan leadership, Afghan ownership’ over the Afghan peace and reconciliation process. [It] supports all Afghan parties in persevering to realise a political reconciliation process as early as possible and to continue playing a constructive function.” Last week, the FT reported that US officials had met the Taliban at least twice in the past three months, despite Washington’s insistence that any peace talks should be conducted by the government in Kabul.
The meetings took place in Qatar, where the Taliban has a political office, and have been interpreted as a sign that the US does not expect its renewed military push in Afghanistan to be enough to defeat the group. China was not thought to have played a significant role in earlier negotiations over Afghanistan’s future beyond its role as an observer in the failed 2015 peace talks. But those involved in the process told the FT that Chinese officials had actually made deeper inroads than their American counterparts. Beijing and the Taliban, they said, had discussed the issue of Muslim Uighurs fleeing China’s Xinjiang province and organising resistance to Beijing’s rule from Afghan territory. Over the past two years Chinese authorities have intensified a series of crackdowns on the Uighurs, who have in the past agitated for independence.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been placed in extralegal detention, while others have crossed the border into Afghanistan, from where Beijing believes some have plotted attacks on Chinese soil. China’s willingness to talk directly to the Taliban rather than simply helping mediate in US or Afghan-led talks shows how the country is becoming increasingly involved in south and central Asian geopolitics. Beijing is already playing a key role in Pakistan, where it is planning to spend $60bn upgrading the country’s infrastructure in return for access to the Gwadar deepsea port on the country’s south coast. China has also bailed out Pakistan several times in the past year, providing loans via state-backed banks as Islamabad looks to top up its fast-depleting stocks of foreign currency.
“The Chinese took great care in making those arrangements,” said one Pakistani official who had been briefed on the trip. Islamabad has acted as a broker for the Taliban, helping to set up negotiations with both China and the US. “The [Taliban] visitors to Beijing got to visit a mosque and eat ‘halal’ food,” the person said. “The Chinese have been trying for some time to urge the Taliban to negotiate, but the meetings were also meant to showcase China’s progress and its tolerance of Muslims.” Beijing’s foreign ministry did not deny the talks. A spokesperson said: “China steadfastly supports ‘Afghan leadership, Afghan ownership’ over the Afghan peace and reconciliation process. [It] supports all Afghan parties in persevering to realise a political reconciliation process as early as possible and to continue playing a constructive function.” Last week, the FT reported that US officials had met the Taliban at least twice in the past three months, despite Washington’s insistence that any peace talks should be conducted by the government in Kabul.
The meetings took place in Qatar, where the Taliban has a political office, and have been interpreted as a sign that the US does not expect its renewed military push in Afghanistan to be enough to defeat the group. China was not thought to have played a significant role in earlier negotiations over Afghanistan’s future beyond its role as an observer in the failed 2015 peace talks. But those involved in the process told the FT that Chinese officials had actually made deeper inroads than their American counterparts. Beijing and the Taliban, they said, had discussed the issue of Muslim Uighurs fleeing China’s Xinjiang province and organising resistance to Beijing’s rule from Afghan territory. Over the past two years Chinese authorities have intensified a series of crackdowns on the Uighurs, who have in the past agitated for independence.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been placed in extralegal detention, while others have crossed the border into Afghanistan, from where Beijing believes some have plotted attacks on Chinese soil. China’s willingness to talk directly to the Taliban rather than simply helping mediate in US or Afghan-led talks shows how the country is becoming increasingly involved in south and central Asian geopolitics. Beijing is already playing a key role in Pakistan, where it is planning to spend $60bn upgrading the country’s infrastructure in return for access to the Gwadar deepsea port on the country’s south coast. China has also bailed out Pakistan several times in the past year, providing loans via state-backed banks as Islamabad looks to top up its fast-depleting stocks of foreign currency.
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