UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-03412 Doc No 005192695 Date 02 21 2013 U PRC Taleban The Locals Are Friendly Page 1 of 1 REVIEW AUTHORITY Archie Bolster Senior Reviewer SECRET NOFOR IM INR W US Department of State Bureau ofIntelligence and Research RELEASED IN PART B1 1 4 D 1 4 C Brief 03 05 2001 i P1aC Taleban The Locals Are Friendly S NF A PRC foreign ministry official in mid-January met in Islamabad with Taleban Foreign Minister Mutawaldl B1 the 1 4 C foreign ministry and other offices a fact-finding team rom a t recommen e o mg 1 4 D regular bilateral exchanges and rebuilding Afghanistan's roads and telecommunications The team noted negative PRC perceptions of the Taleban derived from misleading western and Russian sources it accepted Taleban assertions that Xinjiang dissidents are training to fight anti-Taleban factions inside Afghanistan and are not targeting China S NF Comment The encounters are indicative of broadening PRC-Taleban engagement Evidence of growing commercial contacts includes the presence of PRC telecommunications firms--the same ones implicated in the Iraq controversy--which last year signed protocols to install digital phone systems in Kandahar and Kabul SECRET NOFORNIM Classification Extended on 02 21 2013 - Class SECRET - Authority DSCG 11-1 - Declassify on 03 05 2021 UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No F-2010-03412 Doc No C05192695 Date 02 21 2013