How China and the US could talk to the Taliban together
- The two countries make common cause in preventing Afghanistan from descending into extremism, analysts say
- But there’s one big issue standing in the way
The Taliban took over the Afghan capital Kabul two weeks ago but is confronting an economic crisis that could spiral into a humanitarian disaster as international donors cut off foreign aid – a key contributor to the economy.
The International Monetary Fund has blocked over US$370 million in assistance due to “a lack of clarity within the international community” over the recognition of the Taliban regime and the United States has frozen around US$7 billion of Afghanistan’s reserves.
Zhu Yongbiao, a professor of international relations at Lanzhou University, said the US and China could work together to stop pessimism within the Taliban about integrating into the international community descending into extremism.
“To achieve such a goal, China and the US should help Afghanistan based on conditions on the ground, and shouldn’t seek to impose harsh sanctions on the Taliban blindly according to the Western standards,” Zhu said.
“We should look more at whether the Taliban is truly willing to change.”
