Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid (left) gestures as he arrives to hold the first press conference in Kabul on Tuesday following the Taliban rapid takeover of Afghanistan. The Taliban declared that they wanted peaceful relations with other countries and would respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law. "We don't want any internal or external enemies," Zabihullah Mujahid said. Photo: AFP
What the US want?At this moment, or at least in the short term, China and the US do have common interests in Afghanistan, and Washington even more desperately needs assistance from Beijing. This is why Wang can confidently express China's requirements to Blinken, said experts.
Both China and the US agree that Afghanistan should not become a breeding ground for terrorism, because in the short term, if Afghanistan sees a massive humanitarian crisis or new conflicts before the US completely finishes its evacuation, the safety of US nationals and troops, as well as its legacy in the country will be in danger, said Pan Guang, a senior expert on counter-terrorism and Afghan studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Now, Chinese nationals in Afghanistan are mostly safe and the "China town" in Kabul is now under the protection of the Taliban, so "our demand for evacuation is actually far less than [those of] the Western countries," Pan told the Global Times on Tuesday.
However, "some US personnel told me that the US can offer help to China if we need to evacuate our nationals, such as providing space on aircraft. But I told them this is the US' obligation, not a favor to offer, to help other country to evacuate their nationals if they really need assistance," Pan said, noting that "when talking to us, Americans like to offer some small assistance before mentioning the real deal."
The "real deal" is mainly about two major issues, according to Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University.
Zhou said, "The first is that the US deeply believes China has absolute influence over Pakistan, and that Pakistan can effectively affect the Afghan Taliban, so as long as China is willing to cooperate, the US can indirectly affect Pakistan and the Taliban, or at least prevent miscalculation and frictions."
"The second is that the US wants China to share its pressure in economic assistance to Afghanistan, and to help Afghanistan develop so the country won't become a failed state and a hotbed for terrorism," Zhu said.
However, some decision-makers in Washington consider that when the US finishes its evacuation, the situation in Afghanistan would have far less direct impact on the US even if the chaos reemerges, and China, Russia and regional countries will be in trouble. This will serve US strategy to contain these two "biggest strategic competitors."
