Context: The Fourth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Dialogue will be held virtually this year. The foreign ministers of each country will attend the meet.

About China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Dialogue

• The China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Dialogue mechanism was set up in 2017 at the initiative of China.
• Purpose: The dialogue is aimed at reinforcing trilateral cooperation between three countries in politics, economics and security.

Focus of the Fourth Trilateral Dialogue

• The Fourth Trilateral dialogue will discuss topics related to the current peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan, security cooperation and counterterrorism measures.
• It would also address new uncertainties in China in the wake of the unilateral withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces at a critical stage of the reconciliation process.
• The US has already withdrawn 30-40% of troops from Afghanistan. The complete withdrawal will take place by September 2021.

Afghanistan on this Trilateral Dialogue

• Afghanistan has appreciated China’s offer to facilitate Afghan peace talks in the future.
• However, it has called on India and China to work together for the Afghanistan peace process despite their other bilateral problems.

Note: China also convenes a quadrilateral dialogue with the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan. The recent such meet was held in August 2020.