On September 19th, at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Anadolu Agency asked: “U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration wants to take back Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, ‘not because of Afghanistan but because of China, because it’s exactly one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles.’ What is China’s comment? Do you think this U.S. approach of seeing Afghanistan as a military outpost against China makes this country once more the scene of the great power rivalry, ‘the grand chessboard’ as they used to call?”

Lin Jian said: “China respects Afghanistan’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Afghanistan’s future should rest in the hands of the Afghan people. Let me stress that stirring up tension and confrontation in the region will not be supported. We hope all parties will play a constructive role for regional peace and stability.”