PanamaTimes

Sunday, Oct 25, 2026

"Terrorism Far From Over": China's Concern Over US' Afghan Pull-Out Plan

"Terrorism Far From Over": China's Concern Over US' Afghan Pull-Out Plan

Beijing also slammed Washington for linking the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan to focus more on the threats posed by China, saying the fight against terrorism is in the common interest of all parties, including the two countries.
China on Thursday voiced concern over America's decision to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by September, saying the US should accommodate the legitimate security concerns of the regional countries to prevent "terrorist forces" from taking advantage of the chaos in Afghanistan.

Beijing also slammed Washington for linking the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan to focus more on the threats posed by China, saying the fight against terrorism is in the common interest of all parties, including the two countries.

"The current security situation in Afghanistan is still complex and grim and the problem of terrorism is far from being solved. Foreign troops stationed in Afghanistan should withdraw in a responsible and orderly manner to ensure a smooth transition in Afghanistan and to avoid terrorist forces from taking advantage of chaos," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here while responding to questions on US troops pullout plan.

"The US is the biggest external factor affecting the issue of Afghanistan... It must take full responsibility for preserving the outcomes of Afghanistan's peaceful construction and reconstruction and accommodate legitimate security concerns of the countries in the region," he said.

To a question that the US is linking its troops withdrawal to focus on China, Mr Zhao said, "The US side links its withdrawal from Afghanistan to China's challenge."

"This reflects deep rooted zero-sum mind-set from the Cold War which is detrimental to mutual trust between the two countries and it is not conducive to cooperation and coordination on international and regional issues."

"We have to emphasise that the political solution to Afghanistan and early realisation of peace and stability in the country and the fight against terrorism are in the common interest of all parties concerned, including China and the US and are also common aspiration of the international community," he said.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said that the US "will begin an orderly drawdown of the remaining forces before May 1 and plan to have all US troops out of the country before the 20th anniversary of 9/11."

Later US President Joe Biden said, "It is time to end America's longest war. It is time for American troops to come home."

Mr Zhao also said China will attend the UN conference on Afghanistan scheduled to be held in Istanbul from Aril 20 to May 4 to find a peaceful solution to Afghanistan's civil strife.

Observers say that the US' latest plan to speed up the withdrawal of more troops from Afghanistan may have troubling consequences for China.

China, whose volatile Xinjiang province shares border with the Afghanistan, has been expressing concern over the US troops withdrawal despite its current round of tensions with Washington on a host of issues including, the US claiming genocide by China against Muslim Uygurs in Xinjiang.

China has been refuting allegations of mass detention camps and other gross human rights violations against Uygurs Muslims.

The previous Trump administration had lifted the ban on the separatist East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), an Uygur terror outfit.

The ETIM was designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN's 1267 counter-terrorism committee in 2002 for its alleged association with Al Qaeda, the then Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

Despite its all-weather ties with Pakistan, which holds a strong control over the Taliban as it operates from the Pakistani territory, China's concerns stem from the reports of regrouping of hundreds of Uygur groups who worked with terror group ISIS in Syria and Afghanistan to stage attacks in Xinjiang.
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
Trump-Era Policy Shifts Test the Boundaries of U.S. Institutions
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Breaking With the Past: One of the World’s Smallest Countries Changes Its Name
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
Cuba’s Grid Fails Again as Fuel Crisis Deepens
Nazca Lines Flight Crash Kills Thirteen as Peru Suspends Aerodiana
OpenAI Faces Demands for Full Disclosure After Models Breach Hugging Face
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Why Americans Queue for $15 Ice Cream and a $100 Caviar Pint
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Venezuela’s Earthquake Devastation Turns U.S. Investment Opportunity Into a Thirty-Seven Billion Dollar Reconstruction Challenge
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Trump Administration Pressures Banks to Restrict Financial Access for Undocumented Immigrants
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Colombia Influencer Dies After Cosmetic Procedure at Unlicensed Bogota Salon
A Quiet Bastille Day: France Grapples with World Cup Heartbreak and Leftover Fireworks
Spain in Ecstasy: "We Feel Unbeatable, We Taught the Whole World a Lesson"
On the Island That Did Not Yield to Trump, There Is No Electricity, and 10 Million Live in Darkness
World Cup Visitors Turn American Big-Box Stores Into Souvenir Stops
Anthropic Reengineers Agentic Architecture to Shift Autonomous Workplace Automation to the Cloud
Global Crisis Alert: Escalating Middle East Tensions and UK Political Upheaval
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
×