'Destruction, not construction': China criticises United States over hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan

BEIJING – China on Tuesday hit out at the United States over its quick withdrawal from Afghanistan, "leaving an awful mess of unrest, division and broken families" in the war-torn country.

"America's strength and role is destruction, not construction," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press briefing.

This comes after China on Monday expressed hope that the Taliban will keep its commitment of establishing an "open and inclusive" Islamic government in Afghanistan.

"The situation in Afghanistan has experienced major changes. We respect Afghanistan's people's will and choice," Hua said.

"We noticed the statement from Afghan Taliban (Sunday) saying that the war is over and they will start consultation on establishment of an open and inclusive Islamic government and take the responsibility of safety of Afghan citizens and foreign diplomatic corps," the spokesperson added.

"We hope this will be implemented to ensure a peaceful transition, stop violence and terrorism, and make sure people are free from war and build their new home," Hua further added.

Responding to a question about when will Beijing recognise the Taliban government, the spokesperson said that on the basis of fully respecting Afghanistan's national sovereignty and the will of all parties, Beijing has been maintaining contact with Afghan Taliban and playing a constructive role to ensure political settlement in the country for durable peace.

A day earlier, US President in a statement said that the US went to Afghanistan almost 20 years ago with clear goals: “get those who attacked us on September 11th, 2001, and make sure al Qaeda could not use Afghanistan as a base from which to attack us again”.

“We did that.  We severely degraded al Qaeda in Afghanistan. We never gave up the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and we got him.  That was a decade ago.”

He clearly stated, “Our mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to have been nation building.  It was never supposed to be creating a unified, centralized democracy”.

“Our only vital national interest in Afghanistan remains today what it has always been: preventing a terrorist attack on American homeland,” Biden added.