China's Afghan ambitions on show at multinational meetings

China's ambitions for Afghanistan's stability and economic development under the Taliban will be seen at meetings it is hosting starting Wednesday

BEIJING -- China’s ambitions to have a major hand in Afghanistan's stability and development under the Taliban, while boosting its own stature, will be on display at a pair of multinational meetings it is hosting starting Wednesday.

China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are expected to send representatives to the main meetings involving neighboring states.

A separate meeting of the “Extended Troika" will be held concurrently among special envoys for Afghanistan from China, the United States and Russia, China's Foreign Ministry said.

“China, the U.S., Russia and Pakistan are all countries with significant influence on the Afghan issue," ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said of the Troika meeting at a daily briefing Tuesday.