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Afghanistan, China
Beijing discreetly downgrades Kabul to status of trading partner

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Yue Xiaoyong, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ special envoy for Afghan affairs, during a consultation on Afghanistan in Moscow, on 16 November 2022.
Yue Xiaoyong, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ special envoy for Afghan affairs, during a consultation on Afghanistan in Moscow, on 16 November 2022. © Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/MaxPPP

China has quietly scaled back its ties with the Taliban regime. Russia, the first country to recognise Afghanistan's current rulers, is now looking to suspend that recognition, at Beijing's request, in order to step up pressure on the Taliban leadership.

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