China seeks Taliban help to crack down on ETIM

China is seeking Taliban's help in cracking down on the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM). Beiginj told a visiting Taliban delegation that ETIM, an Islamic group it alleges is fuelling unrest and separatism in China’s Xinjiang province. Foreign minister Wang Yi hopes the insurgent group will play a critical role in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan. Wang met Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s political chief, in Tianjin city.

Baradar said the Taliban is willing to establish an inclusive political structure in Afghanistan, which protects human rights as well as the rights and interests of women and children. He is leading a nine-member Taliban delegation on a two-day visit to China. Calling the Afghan Taliban a “critical military and political force in the country”, Wang said the group is “expected to play an important role in the peace, reconciliation and reconstruction process of Afghanistan”. This is the first time a senior Taliban leader has visited China since the group launched an offensive to capture territories across Afghanistan, coinciding with the rapid drawdown of US and Nato forces.