Express UK
By CLIVE HAMMOND
11:14, Wed, Jan 31, 2024 | UPDATED: 11:24, Wed, Jan 31, 2024
China sent a shuddering warning to its rivals as it recognised a terror group as legitimate leaders of a country, sparking concern throughout the West over what the organisation could do next.
Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, made the landmark move to receive the credentials of ambassadors of Afghanistan, amounting to the first official recognition of the interim Taliban government by a top-tier nation.
The leader was joined by Bilal Karimi, the Taliban-appointed Afghan ambassador, during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People.
Alongside Karimi were ambassadors from the likes of Cuba, Pakistan, Iran and more than three dozen other nations.