China's enhanced "proactive position" in Afghanistan over the past decade has helped to safeguard security in the northwestern Chinese region that borders its troubled neighbour, according to Beijing's special envoy for Afghan affairs.
Yue Xiaoyong said China had "accurately grasped" the issue's general trend and "proactively" managed Afghan affairs. Beijing has also defused various risks and maintained the strategic security of China's northwest periphery, he added.
"In the grand picture of our foreign diplomacy, our proactive position in Afghanistan and its neighbouring South Asian region has been strengthened," Yue told an event at Renmin University's School of Global and Area Studies in Beijing on Tuesday.
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A long-standing concern for Beijing is the potential for its neighbour to harbour terrorist and extremist activities that could pose a security threat, particularly to Xinjiang, which shares a 92.45km (57.4 miles) border with Afghanistan.
In October, the Taliban leadership assured Beijing that it regards threats to China as seriously as a threat against its own country.
While not formally recognising the Taliban regime, China is one of the few countries - along with Pakistan and Russia - to maintain a diplomatic presence in Kabul after the chaotic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan two years ago.
Yue's comments came amid growing signs that China is continuing to step up its engagement with Afghanistan, including the arrival in Beijing in November of the Taliban's newly appointed ambassador Bilal Karimi.
That put China among only a handful of nations to host a Taliban ambassador since the Islamic fundamentalist group regained power in August 2021.
Late last month, Karimi met the head of the Chinese foreign ministry's Asian department Liu Jinsong for a "friendly and in-depth exchange" on the bilateral relationship and cooperation in various fields, according to the ministry.
And in late December, China abstained from a UN Security Council vote advocating the appointment of a special envoy for the war-torn country following an independent assessment report issued in November.
The resolution was adopted, with China calling on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to be cautious in dealing with the appointment.