KABUL: China has established its first diplomatic contact with the Taliban in Kabul after the militant group took control of Afghanistan and the two sides now have “unimpeded and effective communication”, a Chinese official said on Wednesday.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. “China and the Afghan Taliban have unimpeded and effective communication and consultation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here when asked about the talks between the deputy head of the Taliban’s political office Abdul Salam Hanafi and Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu in Kabul.