This year is a crucial year for Afghanistan, which marks the 100th anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence. A new central government will be elected soon. Meanwhile Afghanistan is also facing some uncertain factors. For example, will the Afghan parties generally accept the result of election? Will the United States and the Taliban continue to hold peace talks and will the Afghan government and the Taliban reach a peaceful settlement?
As an important friendly neighbor of Afghanistan, China has long maintained high attention to the Afghan issue. The Chinese government firmly supports Afghan reconciliation process and has been actively mediating for a lasting peace in Afghanistan.
The Afghan issue has both internal and external causes, so the settlement of it requires joint efforts of internal and external forces.
First, internal consensus is a key factor in addressing a number of important issues in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has been a multi-ethnic country since ancient times. Therefore, all major events concerning the national interests and the people’s livelihood must fully consider concerns of all ethnic groups. In addition, in the process of resisting foreign aggression in modern times, a large number of political factions have emerged in Afghanistan. At that time, various political factions were established for the common goal of national independence and liberation in Afghanistan. These political factions should now work together again for national reconciliation and lasting peace in Afghanistan.
It is worrying that Afghan society is currently showing a tendency to fragment. Different groups and factions cannot form a consensus on many major issues, which has led to great challenges to the authority of Afghan government. The Afghan government’s voice in the process of peaceful reconciliation has been weakened. Internal contradictions from the mainstream political factions in Afghanistan pose even greater threats than external side. The harm of internal contradictions is more lasting and far-reaching. There is no power without unity.
Second, the Afghan factions should respect the result of the general election and maintain the authority of the new central government. Since 2001, Afghanistan has successfully held three presidential elections, and the result of the fourth election will be announced soon. This is one of the important achievements in the political reconstruction of Afghanistan. It is true that all the difficulties cannot be resolved through voting. However, the presidential election is a sacred right of the Afghan people to participate in the governance of country, who have overcome many difficulties even the danger of life. All factions should take a serious look at the yearning of Afghan people for a better life. Under the premise of fully guaranteeing fairness and justice in the electoral process and accurate and timely ballot statistics, all parties should accept the result of the general election and restore the domestic political order as soon as possible, so the new government could play a more effective leading role in the future reconciliation process. This will not only improve the efficiency of the governance, but will also strengthen the voice of the Afghan government in regional and international affairs.
Judging by the development of the current situation in Afghanistan, this process will face many challenges. Afghan visionary politicians would contribute more wisdom and courage to solve these difficulties.
Third, internal dialogues and negotiations between Afghans should be held as soon as possible. There is no contradiction between adherence to principles and flexible attitudes, especially in the face of complex political situations. The existence and influence of the Taliban is a reality. Without reconciliation with the Taliban, it is difficult for Afghanistan to achieve lasting peace. This is also an important reason why the United States is willing to have face-to-face peace talks with the Taliban. After all, peace in Afghanistan is peace of Afghanistan. Therefore, China has always been a firm support for the “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” reconciliation process. The Bainul-Afghani-dialogues have been held twice in Moscow and Doha respectively, and has achieved many good results. If the Afghan government could expand the participation in the internal dialogues and promote the internal dialogues into internal negotiations, the internal reconciliation in Afghanistan will be expected to be realized. Historically, the Afghan people have a glorious tradition of discussing and resolving major issues through internal consultation mechanisms, including the Loya Jirga Conference. This is a valuable social culture and tradition of the Afghan people and will help Afghanistan solve the difficulties it faces for the time being. Peace and development are the common voice of Afghan people.
On the other hand, peace and stability in Afghanistan are related to regional situation, so neighboring countries and international powers should cooperate to promote reconciliation in Afghanistan.
First, the stable relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan is one of the crucial elements. Afghanistan and Pakistan are near neighbors, have similar cultural backgrounds and share common interests in many fields. Peace and stability in Afghanistan will also benefit Pakistan. Peace and stability in Afghanistan also require a harmonious surrounding environment. China has been sparing no effort to push Afghanistan and Pakistan to further strengthen bilateral relations and create a harmonious and friendly surrounding environment for both sides. The dialogues between the three foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan and Pakistan have been successfully held three times. The three parties reached consensus on many important issues such as the Afghan peace reconciliation process and regional development cooperation. China, Afghanistan and Pakistan are neighbors to each other. There is a saying in China that close neighbors are better than distant relatives. We will benefit from good neighborhood.
Second, the United States should withdraw troops from Afghanistan responsibly and orderly. Let him who tied the bell on the tiger take it off. The complete resolution of the Afghan issue cannot be separated from the United States. The US should not maintain a long time military presence in Afghanistan, but the withdrawal of them should be handled orderly and accountably. Although the US president recently stopped the US-Taliban negotiations, all parties recognize that dialogue is the only way to solve the problem. We have noticed that US Defense Secretary Mark Esper visited Afghanistan on the 20th this month to try to push the Afghan Taliban and the United States to restart negotiations. Before arriving in Kabul, Esper told reporters that the purpose of his visit was “still finding a political solution (for peace in Afghanistan).” He said that “if the situation requires it”, without affecting the US military’s anti-terrorist actions, the size of the US military in Afghanistan can be reduced from about 14,000 to 8,600 at this stage. Some media revealed that the United States and the Taliban may resume negotiations within a few weeks. In the next step, the status of Afghan government in the process of peace reconciliation needs to be further strengthened so any agreement between US-Taliban can be guaranteed effectively.
Finally, I have to mention the geographical and resource advantages of Afghanistan. The role of Afghanistan as the Eurasian Continental Bridge should be strengthened, which will help it to integrate into the regional and global economic development trends. It should be said that Afghanistan is a treasure that has not been mined. If Afghanistan achieves lasting peace, as a jewel of the ancient Silk Road, it will definitely play its unique advantage again.
