Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi conveyed the decision to his Taliban counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in bilateral talks the two officials held Thursday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting in Uzbekistan.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry released details of the meeting Friday.

“China will grant zero tariff treatment to 98 percent of the tariff lines of the Afghan products exported to China and is willing to import more quality specialty products from Afghanistan,” the statement quoted Wang as saying.

Afghanistan is not a major exporter to China, though China has imported some Afghan pine nuts and other goods in what it characterized as an effort to relieve the Afghan people’s difficulties, reported VOA.

No country has officially recognized the Taliban’s rule since the Islamist group took over Afghanistan last August, when the Western-backed government collapsed and the final U.S.-led foreign troops abruptly withdrew from the country.

China has openly supported the Taliban, however, and is among the countries that have kept open their embassies in Kabul since the Taliban takeover. Wang visited Kabul recently and has urged other countries to increase engagement with the Taliban.

The international community, particularly Western countries, have been pressing the Islamist rulers to ease restrictions on women’s access to work, allow girls to resume secondary school education and govern the country through an inclusive system before recognizing the Taliban government.

The United States and other Western governments blocked Kabul’s access to around $9 billion in Afghan central bank assets, mostly held in the U.S.; suspended financial assistance; and isolated Afghanistan’s banking sector after the Taliban seized control of Kabul on August 15, 2021.

ENDS