A Chinese man was killed as he traveled in northeastern Afghanistan while working for a mining company, Taliban officials said Wednesday. A militant resistance group took responsibility for the killing, alleging the man was working with Taliban intelligence.
The killing of foreigners is rare in Afghanistan, especially since 2021 when foreign troops withdrew from the country and the Taliban returned to power.
The Chinese man, surnamed Li, was on his way to the Dasht-e-Qala district with an interpreter on Tuesday when he was killed by "unknown people," Taliban police spokesman Mohammed Akbar said. The interpreter was unharmed, he said.
Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the Chinese man was working for a mining company and that authorities had informed him to tell local security officials "when crossing districts or provinces," but that he had failed to do so.
"This person didn't tell local security or his office. He took the translator with him and was killed by unknown people," Qani said.
In 2023, Afghanistan signed mining contracts with local companies, many of whom have foreign partners including China, Iran, and Turkey. The contracts included the extraction and processing of iron ore, lead, zinc and gold in four provinces: Herat, Ghor, Logar and Takhar.
A group called the National Mobilization Front, which resists Taliban rule in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the killing and said its fighters had targeted the Chinese man's vehicle.
It alleged the Chinese man was training Taliban intelligence in monitoring social media platforms, without providing evidence.
Asked about the incident at a daily briefing on Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she was not familiar with it. "I believe that the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan will do its utmost to protect the safety of Chinese citizens and we will follow the situation," she said.
China is of particular importance to the Taliban, who are courting foreign investment and regional alliances amid their continued isolation on the international stage because of their restrictions on women and girls.
In December 2022, China urged its citizens to leave Afghanistan following a coordinated attack by Islamic State militants on a Chinese-owned hotel in the heart of Kabul.
Chinese firms, with Beijing backing, have sought to pursue opportunities in exploiting Afghanistan's vast, undeveloped resource deposits, especially the Mes Aynak mine that is believed to hold the world's largest copper deposit.