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China’s special Afghan envoy optimistic about future relations with ‘friendly’ Taliban
- Yue Xiaoyong tells a Chinese news portal that the militant group ‘like to exchange ideas and listen to what people say and explain things’
- Beijing has indicated it is keen to work with the Taliban to ensure stability and combat terrorism
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China’s special envoy for Afghan affairs has struck a positive note about future interactions between Beijing and the Taliban.
Yue Xiaoyong, who was appointed to the post last month, told the Chinese news portal Guancha.cn that Beijing was ready to take part in the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan and repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining communications with the militant group.
“From my experience interacting with them, my feeling is that [the Taliban] are the same as other Afghans, and people in the region, like people from the countryside or villages,” he said.
“They are friendly, they like to exchange ideas with me, and communicate with others. They listen to what people say and explain things. Of course, they like to explain their own views.
“They have been very eager to learn from other countries’ experiences, including China’s. We have always told them that they should figure out their own way, but we are willing to provide assistance.”
Yue, who was speaking from Pakistan, continued: “From a long-term and constructive perspective, China is ready to be part of the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan. We are not only ready to open, develop and build our own country, we are also willing to develop a win-win situation with them.
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