Wang Yi holds trilateral talks with Taliban, Pakistan FMs

In a move that could rile New Delhi just a day after his meetings in India, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met the Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Kabul to discuss trilateral connectivity and building economic initiatives as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Mr. Wang, who met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) evening, flew to Kabul directly from Delhi on Wednesday (August 20, 2025) morning for bilateral and trilateral talks, and then to Islamabad, where he will hold strategic talks with the Pakistani leadership. The government has traditionally frowned upon any “hyphenation” between India and Pakistan during the travel of visiting dignitaries. This is Mr. Wang’s first visit to Kabul in three years, and his first visit to the region since the India-Pakistan conflict in May. The visit also follows deepening tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban regime over terrorism and other cross-border issues.

The External Affairs Ministry (MEA) declined to comment on the meeting or Mr. Wang’s travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“The sixth meeting of the Foreign Ministers’ dialogue of Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan was held in Kabul,“ a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban’s interim government said in Pashto.

Boost cooperation

“In addition to reviewing the decisions of previous meetings, emphasis was placed on strengthening relations between the three countries in political, economic, and connectivity sectors during the meeting,” it added, referring to the previous meeting for Foreign Ministers in Beijing in May this year, where China and Pakistan formally invited the Taliban to join the China’s Belt and Road Initiative as an extension of the CPEC project.

India has objected to the BRI and the CPEC in particular, as it runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), violating India’s concerns over sovereignty and territorial integrity. The trilateral talks were also expected to discuss the completion of a railway line from Central Asia to Pakistan via Afghanistan

According to the statement, Mr. Wang welcomed the upgradation of diplomatic representation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, after Pakistan accepted a Taliban appointee as Ambassador on May 30. Both Pakistan and China have appointed Ambassadors to Kabul as well, although they have not followed Russia, the sole country that has recognised the Taliban regime thus far. The trilateral meeting was originally due to be held in Pakistan, but had to be moved as the U.N. Security Council declined permission to Mr. Muttaqi, who is under international sanctions, to travel to Islamabad.

“Mr. Wang stated that China is interested in Afghanistan’s formal participation in the Belt & Road Initiative & expressed readiness to expand cooperation with Afghan institutions in mining exploration & extraction, indicating China’s intention to commence practical mining operations this year,” a statement issued after an earlier bilateral meeting between Mr. Wang and Mr. Muttaqi on Wednesday (August 20, 2025), that said that China-Afghanistan bilateral trade had crossed $1 billion last year.

Mr. Wang will be in Islamabad on Thursday (August 21, 2025) and Friday (August 22, 2025) for talks with Mr. Dar for the Sixth Round of China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue, and is expected to call on other leaders. His visit to the region comes 10 days before Chinese President Xi Jinping will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin, where PM Modi, Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif, and several other leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, are expected to attend. Afghanistan is an SCO Observer state, but its invitation has been suspended since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.