KABUL, 01 April 2022, (TON): Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued strong backing for Afghanistan at a regional conference, while making no mention of human rights abuses by the country’s Taliban leaders.

Xi pledged China’s support in a message to a gathering of representatives from Afghanistan, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in a central Chinese city that spotlights Beijing’s aspirations to play a leading role in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. forces last August.

Xi said “a peaceful, stable, developed and prosperous Afghanistan” is what Afghans aspire to, which serves the common interests of regional countries and the international community.”

Xi said in his message to the gathering in Tunxi, a center of the tourism industry in Anhui province “China has all along respected Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and is committed to supporting Afghanistan’s peaceful and stable development.”

Xi gave no specifics, although China has already shipped emergency aid to Afghanistan and is seeking to develop copper mining there.