China’s Foreign Minister Makes Surprise Stop in Afghanistan

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (L) greets China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) upon his arrival at Kabul airport, Afghanistan, March 24, 2022. (Taliban Foreign Ministry via AFP)
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (L) greets China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) upon his arrival at Kabul airport, Afghanistan, March 24, 2022. (Taliban Foreign Ministry via AFP)
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China’s Foreign Minister Makes Surprise Stop in Afghanistan

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (L) greets China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) upon his arrival at Kabul airport, Afghanistan, March 24, 2022. (Taliban Foreign Ministry via AFP)
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (L) greets China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) upon his arrival at Kabul airport, Afghanistan, March 24, 2022. (Taliban Foreign Ministry via AFP)

China’s foreign minister made a surprise visit Thursday in Afghanistan's capital, meeting with the country's new Taliban rulers — even as the international community fumes over the former insurgents’ broken promise to reopen schools to girls beyond the sixth grade.

According to the official Bakhtar News Agency, Wang Yi was to meet with Taliban leaders “to discuss various issues, including the extension of political relations, economic, and transit cooperation.”

The Taliban, who seized power last August during the chaotic final weeks of the withdrawal of US and NATO forces after 20 years of war, have been seeking international recognition in order to open up Afghanistan's economy, which has been in free fall since their takeover.

Wang’s visit came as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, was also in Kabul. Kabulov also met with the Taliban-appointed foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban spokesman Qahar Balkhi said.

“The meeting focused on strengthening political, economic, transit and regional relations,” Balkhi tweeted.

Both Beijing and Moscow have become significant regional players, outdistancing the United States. Russia and China, which have both criticized the hasty US departure from Afghanistan, worry that their enemies could find a safe haven under the Taliban rule.

Though neither has shown any inclination to officially recognize the Taliban government, both Moscow and Beijing have avoided criticizing the new rulers despite their repressive rules directed particularly at women, who are denied the right to work and full access to education.

On Wednesday, the Taliban unexpectedly reversed plans to reopen schools in Afghanistan to girls above the sixth grade, reneging on their promise in a move apparently meant to appease their hard-line base at the expense of further alienating the international community.

The US-led coalition unseated the Taliban in 2001 after they refused to hand over al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in America. The Taliban returned to power in mid-August and installed an all-male, Taliban-only administration. The international community has been urging them to open up the government to ethnic minorities and women.

Wang is one of the highest-level visitors to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. China has economic and mining interests in Afghanistan and Afghans familiar with past talks between the Taliban and Chinese officials say Beijing wants Taliban commitments to prevent China's Uyghur opponents from setting up operations in Afghanistan.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin would not comment on Wang’s visit to Kabul, only saying that China was “stepping up preparations for the third meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbors."

China stands ready to “continue to contribute our strengths and advantages as a neighbor to the long-term stability of Afghanistan,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.

The issue of girls' education wasn't mentioned by Wang or in reports on the minister's visit issued by the Foreign Ministry and official Xinhua News Agency.

“We expect the Afghan side to continue to build inclusive and prudent governance, better safeguard the rights and interests of women and children, and demonstrate the tolerance and friendliness of Muslims," Wang was quoted as saying by the ministry.

China, which routinely opposes unilateral sanctions such as those imposed on the Taliban by the US and others, is “willing to carry out mutually beneficial cooperation with Afghanistan in an orderly manner, under the premise of respecting Afghanistan’s sovereignty," Wang said.

Xinhua quoted him saying that China “opposes forces outside the region to wantonly mount political pressure or impose economic sanctions on Afghanistan, and hopes the Afghan caretaker government will establish an inclusive political structure, implement prudent policies, and make active efforts to serve the interests of the Afghan people and meet the expectation of the international community, Wang said.

Last July, Wang hosted a senior Taliban delegation with their top leader, Abdul Ghani Baradar, in the Chinese city of Tianjin. At that meeting, Wang sought assurances the Taliban would not allow anti-China groups to operate under their rule and referred to the Taliban as “a pivotal military and political force in Afghanistan.”



UN Nuclear Chief in Tehran ahead of Fresh Iran-US Talks

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi speaks during a press conference on the opening day of his agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, March 3, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi speaks during a press conference on the opening day of his agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, March 3, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl
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UN Nuclear Chief in Tehran ahead of Fresh Iran-US Talks

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi speaks during a press conference on the opening day of his agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, March 3, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi speaks during a press conference on the opening day of his agency's quarterly Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, March 3, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi met the head of Iran's atomic energy agency, Mohammad Eslami, on Thursday ahead of a fresh round of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.

Iranian and US delegations are to gather in Rome on Saturday for a second round of Omani-mediated negotiations, a week after the longtime foes held their highest-level talks since US President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear accord in 2018, AFP said.

There were no immediate details on Grossi's meeting with Eslami, but Iran's reformist Shargh newspaper described his visit as "strategically significant at the current juncture".

On Wednesday, Grossi met with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led the first round of talks with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday.

Araghchi said he had had a "useful" meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency chief.

"The IAEA can play a crucial role in peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear file in the coming months," he said.

Araghchi called on the IAEA chief to "keep the agency away from politics" in the face of "spoilers" seeking to "derail current negotiations". He did not elaborate.

Grossi said their meeting was "important".

"Cooperation with IAEA is indispensable to provide credible assurances about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program at a time when diplomacy is urgently needed," he said on X.

'Not far' from possessing bomb

Before heading to Iran, Grossi told French newspaper Le Monde that Tehran was "not far" from possessing a nuclear bomb.

Western governments have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire a nuclear weapons capability, an ambition Tehran has consistently denied.

A year after Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran began rolling back its own commitments under the agreement, which gave it relief from sanctions in return for IAEA-monitored restrictions on its nuclear activities.

In its latest report, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms (605 pounds) of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent.

That level far exceeds the 3.67 percent enrichment ceiling set by the 2015 deal, but still falls short of the 90 percent threshold required for a nuclear warhead.

Since he returned to office in January, Trump has revived his "maximum pressure" policy of punishing economic sanctions against Iran.

In March, he sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei urging talks and warning of possible military action if Iran refused.

On Thursday, the New York Times reported that Trump had blocked an Israeli plan to strike Iranian nuclear facilities in favor of seeking a negotiated deal.

'Conflicting positions'

On Tuesday, Khamenei cautioned that while the talks with the United States had started well, they could yet prove fruitless.

"The negotiations may or may not yield results," he said.

On Wednesday, Araghchi said Iran's enrichment of uranium was not up for discussion after Witkoff called for a halt.

Witkoff had previously demanded only that Iran return to the 3.67 percent enrichment ceiling set by the 2015 deal.

Araghchi said he hoped to start negotiations on the framework of a possible agreement, but that this required "constructive positions" from the United States.

"If we continue to (hear) contradictory and conflicting positions, we are going to have problems," he warned.

On Thursday, Iran's top diplomat headed to Moscow on a "pre-planned" visit to the Tehran ally.

The Kremlin said that Russia stood ready to do "everything" in its power to help resolve the standoff over Iran's nuclear program.