Chinese state media, netizens hit out at US over chaos in Afghanistan
BEIJING – As the Taleban stormed the capital city of Kabul and American forces continued to withdraw from Afghanistan, scenes of the chaos and confusion were closely watched by Chinese media and netizens.
State media reports were heavy with schadenfreude, while on the Twitter-like social media platform Weibo, netizens compared the situation in Afghanistan to the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Others took the opportunity to question the United States’ commitment to its partners, asking if Washington would stand beside Taiwan when push came to shove.
The state-run China Daily ran an editorial on Sunday (Aug 15) calling the US withdrawal “humiliating (and) deleterious”.
Nationalist tabloid Global Times said the situation in Afghanistan was a heavy blow to the US and signalled a “complete failure of (its) intentions to reshape” the country.
“The US’ desperate withdrawal plan shows the unreliability of US commitments to its allies: When its interests require it to abandon allies, Washington will not hesitate to find every excuse to do so,” wrote the Global Times.
As scenes of helicopters evacuating US diplomats and chaos at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport played out on TV screens and social media, Beijing has blamed the deteriorating situation on Washington.
Its special envoy to Afghanistan, Mr Yue Xiaoyong, in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV, said the US deserved to be condemned by the international community.
“The US has been in Afghanistan for 20 years, and now hastily and irresponsibly withdraws its troops. It bears main responsibility for the current chaos in Afghanistan,” he said.
On Weibo, a Chinese hashtag – translated as “the US spent S$2 trillion and left a rotten mess” – was one of the top trending topics and had over 110 million views.
Netizens on Chinese social media circulated images that juxtaposed scenes from the fall of Saigon with what was happening in Afghanistan – with military helicopters hovering over the US embassy as it lifted diplomats to safety.
As the US’ Aug 31 deadline for leaving Afghanistan loomed closer, China – whose restive Xinjiang region abuts Afghanistan – has stepped up its engagement of the Taleban militant group.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi met the head of the Taleban’s political bureau, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Tianjin last month.
Mr Wang had called the Taleban an “important military and political force” that was expected to play an important role in Afghanistan’s peace, reconciliation and reconstruction process.
Experts said then that his statements had amounted to significant public recognition by Beijing that the Taleban was a legitimate political force.
Asked about the situation in Afghanistan, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said at a briefing on Monday that the Chinese embassy in Kabul was still open, although Beijing had arranged evacuation flights for most Chinese nationals.
“The Taleban have repeatedly expressed their hope to develop good relations with China. They have also promised that they will never allow any forces to use Afghan territory to do things that endanger China,” she added.
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