On August 22, Senior Colonel Zhou Bo (ret.), senior fellow at Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) and China Forum expert, was invited to speak at a special TV forum titled “Afghanistan in Transition” jointly presented by CGTN and Shamshad TV. The programs aims to drum up international awareness on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and to find a path to recovery.

The greatest consolation is that the forever war in Afghanistan is over, said Zhou, who believes that the peace situation will be maintained and the Afghan people will rebuild their country, as China continues to support its peaceful reconstruction.

The joint statement of the Third Foreign Ministers’ Meeting Among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan is not only about political goals; it is effectively a list of what each country can do to help Afghanistan, said Zhou. He noted that China also invited non-neighboring countries such as Russia and the US to discuss how they can help Afghanistan, which shows that the international community is still trying to give Afghanistan as much help as possible amid the Ukraine crisis.

At the forum, panelists agreed that the solution to Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis and economic recovery lies not only in the country itself but also in the international community. The Afghan government needs to improve the circumstances and rights of women and girls, respond to the international community’s concerns, and take the initiative to rebuild the country. On the other hand, aid is not a sustainable solution; what Afghanistan needs is a peaceful and stable external environment to help its society get back on track.