China, which has stepped up its diplomacy between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the wake of the US troops withdrawal from the war-torn country, has offered to host peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Significantly, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, who in the last two-days held telephone talks with his Pakistani and Afghan counterparts, said that China will back the Afghan government headed by Ashraf Ghani in playing a leading role. The offer to facilitate peace talks was made during Wang’s phone talks with his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Haneef Atmar on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a media briefing on Tuesday. Asked to elaborate, Zhao said, “China is ready to facilitate intra-Afghan talks and will provide necessary conditions for negotiation in China.”

During their telephonic conversation, Wang told Atmar that “China will continue to support the Afghan government in playing a leading role in the country’s peace and reconciliation process”, Xinhua news agency reported. https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/?olv-cache-ver=20210512123229#