All US Adversaries Gather... China Hosts Meeting of Ministers from Afghanistan-Adjacent Countries

Foreign Ministers of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia Gather in Huangshan, China
China Expands Global Influence... Likely to Intervene in Myanmar Military Coup Crisis

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] The '3rd Diplomatic Ministers' Meeting of Countries Adjacent to Afghanistan' is being held under China's leadership to discuss support measures for Afghanistan (Afgan). This is interpreted as China's intention to increase its influence in the Islamic cultural sphere following the withdrawal of U.S. troops and to expand its role in Middle Eastern regional issues.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

China will also invite foreign ministers from Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Myanmar starting from the 31st to discuss the current issues related to the Myanmar military coup.

According to state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 29th, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold the meeting of foreign ministers of countries adjacent to Afghanistan over two days from the 30th to the 31st in Tunxi, Huangshan, Anhui Province.

The meeting will be attended by the host country China, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Notably, Russia, which is in confrontation with the United States over the invasion of Ukraine, will participate, and Qatar and Indonesia will join as specially invited countries. Since all participating countries are those that have considerable conflicts with the U.S., there is an analysis that China is expanding its influence while the U.S. is focused on the Ukraine issue.

Chinese media predict that support measures for the war-torn country, including Afghanistan's reconstruction projects, will be discussed at this meeting.

Professor Zhu Yongbao of Lanzhou University, an Afghanistan expert, said, "International attention has shifted from Afghanistan to Ukraine," and predicted, "At this meeting, Afghanistan's neighboring countries will urge the U.S. to take responsibility for Afghanistan, including the unfreezing of Afghan assets."

Professor Zhu Weilei of the Middle East Research Institute at Shanghai University said, "It will take a long time for the Taliban government to gain recognition from the international community," and added, "China will play a more active and leading role in regional issues going forward."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a meeting with Chinese media the day before, "With expectations to strengthen cooperation with Islam, China was invited to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting for the first time," and stated, "At this meeting, China and Islamic countries reached important agreements on a wide range of issues."

He further emphasized, "China and the Islamic cultural sphere jointly resist civilizational discrimination and agree to jointly oppose the clash of civilizations." The civilizational discrimination and clash mentioned by Minister Wang are interpreted as expressions aimed at the Western camp, including the United States.

Minister Wang pointed out regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "War or sanctions to resolve conflicts cannot be a solution," and added, "The Cold War-era approach of dividing into enemies and allies cannot solve complex problems."

Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that from the 31st to the 3rd of next month, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin Jr., and Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Maung Lwin will visit China and hold talks with Minister Wang Yi.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not disclose the specific schedules or agendas of the Southeast Asian foreign ministers' meetings, but there are expectations that China will play a certain role regarding the Myanmar military coup situation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.