China urges US to live up to Afghanistan commitment as Qin Gang continues Central Asia push on Uzbekistan visit

In position paper issued on Wednesday, Beijing accuses US of hindering humanitarian progress by seizing Afghanistan assets and imposing sanctions
Chinese foreign minister will meet Uzbek president and acting foreign minister and discuss Taliban-ruled neighbour with counterparts from region

Belt and Road Initiative

Liu Zhen

Published: 9:00am, 12 Apr 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

China has urged the US to live up to its commitment in Afghanistan and not push a geopolitical agenda by deploying military facilities near the country.

In a position paper issued on Wednesday, Beijing accused its rival of hindering the humanitarian progress by seizing Afghanistan’s overseas assets and imposing unilateral sanctions.

Without naming the US and its Western allies, the paper said it was a shared view in the region that Afghanistan had suffered because of “military interference and democratic transformation by external forces” in the country over the past 20 years.

04:31

China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang hits out at US on Ukraine, rate hikes and Taiwan

“Relevant countries should not attempt again to deploy military facilities to Afghanistan and its surrounding areas … and should not realise their geopolitical designs by supporting and conspiring against terrorism,” the paper said.

The position paper was issued as Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang started his first journey to Uzbekistan on Wednesday, followed by a meeting with his counterparts from six countries in the region to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, Beijing announced on Tuesday.

In his first trip to Tashkent as foreign minister, Qin will meet Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the country’s acting foreign minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin announced at a regular press briefing.

“They will exchange views on bilateral high-level contacts in China-Uzbekistan relations and on international and regional issues of common interest,” Wang said.

“We believe that this visit will fully implement the consensus reached by our heads of state,” Wang said, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Uzbekistan in September.

Xi’s Central Asia trip a big first step in renewing regional contact: analyst

Xi chose Central Asia as the destination for his first overseas trip since the pandemic lockdown. In Samarkand, Uzbekistan, he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and received a Medal of “Highest Friendship” from Mirziyoyev.

The leaders agreed to work together to push forward the construction of a cross-border railway under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in fields including trade, investment, natural gas pipelines, green energy, agricultural infrastructure, public health, tourism, culture, education, environmental protection and arts and culture.

On Thursday, Qin will meet the foreign ministers of Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan to discuss the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan – the fourth such meeting since 2021.

01:36

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Kazakhstan on first trip abroad since pandemic began

Landlocked Uzbekistan represents a key hub for China’s natural gas supply, as the Central Asia-China pipeline runs through the country and provides up to 10 billion cubic metres (353 billion cubic feet) of natural gas to China.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway project is an important part of Xi’s grand belt and road strategy that aims to build major infrastructure across Asia and Europe and revive the ancient Silk Road.

The CKU railway, expected to start construction this year, will give China a second route into Central Asia besides an existing Kazakhstan rail connection and will be the shortest land route for Chinese goods to reach the Middle East.

Could Xinjiang-Central Asia railway tilt regional power in China’s favour?

Negotiations on the railway had stagnated for two decades, partially because Russia, which has historically had significant sway over Central Asia, objected to the project that could increase China’s presence in the region.

It wasn’t until last year that Beijing finally reached an agreement with Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The Russia-Ukraine war appears to have provided some impetus for the deal.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has boosted the geopolitical importance of the region. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Uzbekistan in March and agreed with Saidov on strengthening security cooperation in Central Asia.

Additional reporting by Ziwen Zhao

Post