China says will attend meeting on Afghanistan hosted by Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: China’s Special Envoy for Afghan Affairs, Yue Xiaoyong, will lead a delegation to attend a meeting on Afghanistan hosted by Pakistan on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said on Wednesday.
The "troika plus" meeting, due to take place in Islamabad, will include the Afghan Taliban's new foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
“China supports Pakistan in hosting the extended troika meeting,” Wang said at a press briefing. “We support all efforts conducive for stability in Afghanistan to building up consensus in the world.”
China and Pakistan have both declined an invitation to attend a conference on Afghanistan being hosted by India this week.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf will chair Thursday’s meeting in Islamabad.
The US State Department’s Special Representative and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Afghanistan, Thomas West, and Russia’s Special Afghanistan Envoy Zamir Kabulov will also participate.
This is the first full-fledged meeting off the ”troika plus” since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August. The last meeting was held in Doha on August 11.