Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told China's state-run news outlet that China has played an important part in the promotion of peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and welcomes the opportunity of working with the Chinese government to rebuild the war-torn Islamic country.
With the U.S. pulling out its military personnel and assets from Afghanistan, China says it's ready to move forward in its relations with the Taliban.
Taliban fighters seized control of Afghanistan over the weekend in a pandemonium that sent thousands of locals and the country's military allies fleeing for safety.
Many fear a return to the strict interpretation of the Sharia Law enforced during the previous Taliban governance that ended two decades ago.
With the American drawdown, and China's eagerness to contribute to Afghanistan's nation-building efforts, foreign policy experts say China remains uneasy about what may come next and may not allot security and economic pledge to Afghanistan soon.
In a meeting by China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and a Taliban delegation in China's northern port city of Tianjin in July, Wang said he hoped Afghanistan could embrace a moderate Islamist approach.
U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken spoke Tuesday with Wang about developments in the Islamic country. The State Department said Blinken and Wang discussed the country's security situation and the two sides' respective efforts to bring their citizens back home.
According to reports, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has also discussed the security situation in Afghanistan with his Chinese and Russian counterparts.
"China is a big nation with a massive economy and capacity," Reuters quoted Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen as saying, adding that the insurgent group thinks they can play a big role in the rehabilitation of Afghanistan.
China withdrew its diplomats from Afghanistan in 1993 after the civil war broke out in the country. The Chinese government never established official diplomatic ties with the Taliban after the insurgent group seized power in 1996.
According to Zhang Li, a professor at the Sichuan University's Institute of South Asian Studies, China must examine clearly how the Taliban stabilize the Afghan situation.
