China urges US to lift asset freeze, sanctions on Afghanistan

A protester holds a banner as he stands in front of Taliban fighters during a protest condemning President Joe Biden's decision on frozen Afghan assets in Kabul, Afghanistan, Feb 15, 2022. Biden signed an executive order on Feb 11, 2022 to create a pathway to split $7 billion dollars of Afghan assets frozen in the US to fund humanitarian relief in Afghanistan and to create a trust fund to compensate Sept 11 victims. (HUESSEIN MALLA / AP)

BEIJING – The United States seized Afghan assets without the consent of the Afghan people, which is tantamount to robbery, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday, urging the US to lift the freeze.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on the executive order signed by US President Joe Biden regarding the $7 billion frozen assets of the Central Bank of Afghanistan.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on the executive order signed by US President Joe Biden regarding the $7 billion frozen assets of the Central Bank of Afghanistan

Without the consent of the Afghan people, the US willfully disposes of assets that belong to the Afghan people, even keeping them as its own. "This is no different from the conduct of bandits," Wang said.

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This latest example has once again laid bare that the "rules-based order" the US claims to champion is not the kind of rules and order to defend the weak and uphold justice, but to maintain its own hegemony, Wang noted.

As the culprit of the Afghan crisis, the US should not exacerbate the suffering of the Afghan people, he said.

It should unfreeze their assets, lift unilateral sanctions on Afghanistan as soon as possible, and assume its due responsibility to ease the humanitarian crisis in the country, said the spokesperson. 

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An Afghan girl holds a placard, during a protest condemning U.S. President Joe Biden's decision, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Feb 15, 2022. President Biden signed an executive order on Feb 11, to create a pathway to split $7 billion in Afghan assets frozen in the US to fund humanitarian relief in Afghanistan and to create a trust fund to compensate Sept 11 victims. (HUSSEIN MALLA / AP)