KABUL: Following the Taliban takeover, China officially named its new ambassador to Afghanistan for the first time after the envoy's credentials were officially handed at a ceremony in Kabul.
The Taliban have not been officially recognised by any foreign government, and Beijing did not indicate whether the appointment signalled any wider steps towards formal recognition of the Taliban. “This is the normal rotation of China’s ambassador to Afghanistan, and is intended to continue advancing dialogue and cooperation between China and Afghanistan,” China’s foreign ministry said. “China’s policy towards Afghanistan is clear and consistent.”
According to a spokesman for the Taliban administration's foreign ministry, Zhao Xing is the first ambassador from any nation to hold the position since the Taliban assumed power in August 2021 after US-led international forces left after 20 years. According to the deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, Bilal Karimi, Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the acting prime minister, had received the new envoy's credentials in a ceremony.
The Taliban spokesperson’s office published photos of a ceremony at Afghanistan’s presidential palace at which the ambassador was received by officials, including Akhund and the acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi. China’s previous ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu, took up the role in 2019 and finished his tenure last month. There are other diplomats in Kabul with the title of ambassador, but all of them took up their posts before the Taliban takeover.