BEIJING – China reaffirmed its role as a key diplomatic mediator through an informal trilateral meeting in Beijing on Wednesday, providing an important platform to address bilateral issues through peaceful dialogue.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi chaired the meeting between Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishak Dar and Afghanistan’s representative minister Maurawi Amir Khan Muttaki.
The three diplomats praised the progress made under the dialogue between China and the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and held constructive discussions on deepening trilateral cooperation to achieve mutual benefits.
Beijing talks have come at a critical time in Afghanistan-Pakistan relations, and have been tense since December 2024 when Afghan officials denounced Pakistan with a fatal Pakitika bombing. Pakistan does not accept strikes, but describes them as counter-terrorism operations, namely Kabul’s conflict.
China’s Foreign Minister, who is also a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, reviewed and summarised the main results of the meeting.
He repeated China’s principled position in supporting Afghanistan and Pakistan’s sovereignty, and reiterated his right to choose a development path that aligns with their national circumstances, while maintaining the integrity of their territorial and core national interests.
Chinese diplomats expressed a clear willingness to enhance diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and in principle agreed to exchange ambassadors as soon as possible. “China will welcome this and continue to provide support for improving Afghanistan-Pakistan relations,” Wang said.
Pakistan and Afghanistan maintain embassies in each of their capitals, but both diplomatic missions are now led by the fare d’ incident rather than the ambassador.
The King highlighted the consensus between Pakistan and Afghanistan, fighting terrorism through strengthening security cooperation, addressing shared concerns about terrorist groups, and preventing external interference in regional issues. Both sides have committed to maintaining regional stability and promoting an environment that will help mutual development.
He added that both China and Pakistan are still committed to supporting Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development, and are ready to expand trade cooperation while helping Afghanistan build sustainable development capacity.
The three countries have reached consensus to expand the Economic Corridor (CPEC) of China and Pakistan to Afghanistan and focus on upgrades to regional connectivity systems and strengthen belt-road collaboration. Furthermore, they agreed to promote preparations for the Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kabul.
CPEC, the $64 billion flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has established comprehensive connectivity between China’s New Jiang province and Pakistan’s Gwadar port through an integrated network of highways, rail and energy pipelines. BRI aims to strengthen economic integration and development cooperation across participating countries.
For now, the Beijing Conference reflects China’s sustained commitment to promoting dialogue and is based on results that promote reconciliation. In 2023, China played a pivotal role in restoring Iran-Saudi Arabia relations, but the mediation of the Hamas-Fatah agreement in July 2024 further demonstrated its commitment to fostering political resolution.