According to Afghan officials, the first foreign envoy at the ambassadorial level has been appointed since the Taliban assumed control in 2021. The new Chinese ambassador handed his credentials to the Taliban’s prime minister in Kabul on Wednesday.
No other country has formally recognised the Taliban. Whether or not Beijing is taking moves towards formal recognition of the Taliban was unclear after Wednesday’s appointment.
When asked for comment, China’s foreign ministry did not immediately answer.
At a ceremony, “Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, accepted the credentials of Mr Zhao Xing, the new Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan,” according to a statement released by Bilal Karimi, the Taliban government’s deputy spokesman.
A spokesman for the Taliban government’s foreign ministry acknowledged that he was the country’s first ambassador to be nominated since the Taliban took power in August 2021 after Western forces withdrew.
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Wang Yu, China’s last ambassador to Afghanistan, began his post in 2019 and left a month ago.
Pakistan and the European Union are just two of the many countries and international delegations that have sent senior diplomats to lead diplomatic missions in Kabul under the title of “chargee d’affaires,” which means they are responsible for ambassadorial duties but do not hold the role of ambassador.
In addition, some ambassadors who were appointed during the time of the previous foreign-backed government in Afghanistan have remained in Kabul.
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban overran the capital city when the Afghan security forces, which had been established with years of Western help, collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani, who had been backed by the United States, fled.
