On February 7, Ambassador Cong Peiwu published a signed article titled “The Lessons We Can Learn from the Afghanistan Situation”on The Hill Times. Here is the full text:

Pine nuts are widely consumed across Canada, just as they are in China. In traditional Chinese culture, pine nuts are said to aid in longevity and good health and are found in many of the best recipes across the country. As of late 2021, over a thousand tons of Afghani pine nuts had been exported to China via the reopened “Pine Nut Air Corridor”. They were widely loved by Chinese consumers and generated over 16 million US dollars in revenue for Afghanistan. I am sure that there will be more products from Afghanistan sold to China in the future, which will undoubtedly help address the economic and livelihood difficulties faced by people in Afghanistan currently.

Afghanistan was one of the pearls of the ancient Silk Road, the crossroads between East and West, and to this day is a place full of culture and history. Sadly, Afghanistan has for countless years suffered through war and strife, its people facing unimaginable and almost never-ending humanitarian crises and hardships. There is a great need for the international community to work together to help Afghanistan.

Chinese traditional virtues emphasize helping people in difficulty. More than 2,000 years ago, Confucius rightly pointed out that “The man of perfect virtue is one who, desiring to turn his own merits to account, helps others to turn theirs to account.”This culture has been deeply integrated into the blood of the Chinese nation. China's diplomacy has also inherited the above-mentioned tradition and maintained a global vision. As a friendly neighbor of Afghanistan, China always respects Afghanistan's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, and supports the Afghan people in independently determining their own destiny and choosing the development path, and we are willing to support the stability of Afghanistan as it rebuilds after so many years of war.

China is currently working to provide Afghanistan with humanitarian aid worth over 200 million Chinese yuan (equivalent to about 40 million Canadian dollars), including more than 5,000 tons of grain, as well as 3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, among other medical support and winter supplies. China is also taking a variety of measures to help Afghanistan solve its longer-term economic challenges, so that the country can gradually become economically self-sufficient.

As we look to a more hopeful future for Afghanistan and help pull the country out of its current crisis as quickly as possible, it is also important to think about what lessons can be learned from the Afghanistan situation. I think there are at least 3 lessons to be learned:

The first is that mutual respect between countries is extremely important. We need to seek common ground and shelve differences. The instability and harm caused by hegemonism are clearly visible in the failure of the US in Afghanistan. For 20 years, more than 100,000 Afghan civilians have been killed or wounded in the gunfire of US troops and its ally forces, and more than 10 million people have been displaced. The Afghan War caused an average loss of 60 million US dollars on a daily basis. About 72% of the people of Afghanistan live below the poverty line, and the unemployment rate reached 38%.

No two leaves in the world are identical, and no country can force its own standards, its own culture, and its own social systems upon others. History has shown time and again that violent interference and invasions only lead to disaster. All countries should aim for peaceful co-existence above all else, respecting our differences while celebrating our commonalities. This is true for Afghanistan as well as all other countries around the world.

The second lesson is that we need international cooperation now more than ever. Covid-19 is still ravaging the globe, with new variants such as Omicron causing countless challenges to every country. For underdeveloped countries like Afghanistan, it is even more important that the international community work together to help them get through these challenging times. We are all humans living on this pale blue dot together. All countries in the world are on the same boat and part of the community with a shared future for mankind. In the face of global challenges such as the pandemic and climate change, no country can go it alone. We shouldn’t be trying to trip each other up or benefit at the expense of one another. Rather, we should respect each other, and cooperate with honest good intentions to make life better for everyone around the world.

The third lesson is that China and Canada should collaborate, can collaborate, and will benefit greatly from collaboration. China and Canada both pay great attention to the situation in Afghanistan, and we both believe that the humanitarian challenges there need to be urgently addressed. China is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with Canada in this regard.

In fact, whether it be bilateral matters or international affairs, China and Canada can find common understandings to expand cooperation and partnerships around the world, to make the world a better place, and help both of our countries prosper. China and Canada can collaborate in many ways, including trade, dealing with the pandemic, responding to climate change, promoting sustainable development, and more. Canada and China share many common understandings and common goals.

Afghanistan is a long way from North America, but the experience of Afghanistan is something we can all learn from. China hopes to approach the China-Canada relationship from a perspective of mutual respect and shared success toward a better future for both of our countries, and the world as well.