Beijing and the Taliban Are Friends, Brags Global Times Editor
BY ALEX WU
13 July 2021
As the United States withdraws its remaining troops from Afghanistan, the Chinese communist regime is starting to make moves to expand its influence in the war-torn country.
On July 6, U.S. Central Command announced that the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was more than 90 percent complete. The Taliban then began to attack and capture territory. At the same time, the Taliban said publicly that it sees China “as a friend” for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Observers believe that Beijing is ready to expand its influence into the country through the regime’s Belt and Road Initiative to fill the void left by the departure of the United States and NATO troops.
On July 9, Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouthpiece media “Global Times,” published three consecutive posts on Chinese social media claiming that the United States could not handle the Taliban and that the U.S. troop withdrawal showed it was “being forced to flee in a hurry.”
Hu highlighted the Taliban’s statement and boasted, “Taliban even considers China a friend. Now you know how steady and powerful China is in diplomacy!”
