China's Xi urges 'strengthened coordination' with Afghanistan

ISTANBUL

China’s President Xi Jinping has urged “strengthened coordination” with Afghanistan toward the reconstruction and development of the war-torn South Asian country.

Xi made the remarks during the 2nd China-Central Asia Summit held in the Kazakh capital Astana on Tuesday, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

“We should strengthen coordination to help the country boost its development capacity and achieve peace, stability, reconstruction and development at an early date,” Xi told the leaders of five Central Asians, some of which share a border with Afghanistan.

Xi said Afghanistan was a “close neighbor” to China, as well as Central Asia.

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan share a border with Afghanistan.

Wakhan Corridor, a mountain pass, connects the landlocked nation to China through Xinjiang.

Xi’s call for strengthened cooperation with Afghanistan comes as the nation faces an economic crisis amid frozen $7 billion in Afghan foreign assets by the US.

The US' former Joe Biden administration blocked the release of these assets following the complete withdrawal of US-led foreign forces from the war-torn country in August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power in Kabul.

Last year, the bilateral trade volume between China and Afghanistan amounted to $1.59 billion, according to Chinese government data.

In January last year, China became the first country to accept an ambassador from the Taliban-led interim administration while Beijing sent its envoy to Kabul in September 2023.

No UN member state has recognized the interim administration but the world body maintains an office in Kabul to coordinate its work.

Notably, Abdul Salam Hanafi, the deputy administrative prime minister, is currently on a trip to China along with a high-level Afghan delegation.