China 'Ready' To Recognize Taliban If Afghan Government Ousted
Late last month the world beheld the unusual footage of Taliban commanders being warmly received by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi in the Chinese city of Tianjin. That trip included the Islamic terror group's co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in a rare visit widely seen as an attempt of the jihadists to gain "legitimacy" abroad.
It appears to have paid off, given that now at a moment the Taliban is scoring victory and victory on the ground they are eyeing the sought after price of Kabul. And now US News and World Report writes that "China is prepared to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate ruler of Afghanistan if it succeeds in toppling the Western-backed government in Kabul, U.S. News has learned, a prospect that undercuts the Biden administration's remaining source of leverage over the insurgent network as it continues its startling campaign to regain control."
Beijing is still said to be urging the Taliban to strike a ceasefire and peace deal with the government under Afghan president Ashraf Ghani. In the past days Kabul has signaled it's open to a "power sharing" agreement.
But the Taliban has little incentive given it's already taken over about two-thirds of the country with relative ease and while beholding retreating national forces.
"However, new Chinese military and intelligence assessments of the realities on the ground in Afghanistan have prompted leaders in the Chinese Communist Party to prepare to formalize their relationship with the insurgent network, according to multiple U.S. and foreign intelligence sources familiar with the Chinese assessments," the report says further.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-ready-recognize-taliban-if-afghan-government-ousted