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China has signalled its willingness to co-operate with the Taliban and earlier this month welcomed a Taliban delegation to China. This was in marked contrast to their reaction when the Taliban last took over in 1996, when China refused to recognise their rule and closed its embassy in Kabul. 

Yun Sun is co-director of the East Asia programme at the Washington-based Stimson Centre. She says that China will a smooth takeover and reassurances that the Taliban will not support radical Islamic militant groups, and that China may well be looking for investment opportunities but will want the situation to stablise before making a commitment.

Photo: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Afghanistan's Taliban political chief, in Tianjin, July 2021 Credit: Reuters