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China calls on Pakistan, Afghanistan to help fight terror, protect Chinese interests in first 3-way talks since 2021
- Call comes as foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan meet for first time since Taliban took power in Kabul in August 2021
- A key point on the agenda is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship belt and road project that Beijing wants to extend into Afghanistan
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Frank Tangin Beijing
China has called on Afghanistan and Pakistan to help fight terror and protect Chinese interests, as the three neighbours resumed a strategic dialogue mechanism suspended since the Taliban took power in Kabul nearly two years ago.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said the three nations should oppose all forms of terrorist activity or “double-standards” in recognising such acts, as well as strengthen counterterrorism and security cooperation.
“[China hopes] that Afghanistan and Pakistan will enhance the protection of Chinese nationals, institutions and projects,” state news agency Xinhua quoted Qin as saying during his meeting with counterparts in Pakistani capital Islamabad.
Qin’s talks on Saturday with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the acting foreign minister of the Afghan interim government, Amir Khan Muttaqi, was the fifth trilateral foreign ministers’ dialogue since the mechanism was set up in 2017.
The dialogue, which aimed to tackle the terrorist threats to China’s domestic and overseas projects as Beijing pushed hard for its Belt and Road Initiative, was disrupted after the US-backed government in Kabul was toppled by the Taliban militant group in August 2021.
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