Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has sought assurances from the Taliban that it will make a “clean break” with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group Beijing alleges is inciting separatism in neighbouring Xinjiang, warning Kabul that the group not only threatens China’s security but also Afghanistan’s long-term stability.

Wang, also the Chinese state councillor, told acting deputy Prime Minister of the interim Taliban government, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, that Beijing expects Kabul to crack down on ETIM and other terrorist groups.

Wang met Baradar in Doha, Qatar, late on Monday in the highest-level bilateral engagement with the Taliban government since the insurgent group swept to power in August and declared the establishment of a new regime, based on Islamic tenets, following the chaotic withdrawal of US-led western troops from Washington.

From a report on the meeting issued by the news agency Xinhua, it seemed that the meeting’s focus was on Beijing’s apprehensions on how the new regime will tackle terror and its efforts to form an inclusive government.

“Wang emphasised that the ‘East Turkestan Islamic Movement’ (ETIM), an international terrorist organisation listed by the UN Security Council, not only poses a real threat to China’s national security and territorial integrity, but also jeopardises the domestic stability and long-term stability in Afghanistan,” the Xinhua report said.

Wang said he “hopes and believes” that the Afghan Taliban will make a clean break with the ETIM and other terrorist organisations, and take effective measures to resolutely crack down on them.

The Chinese diplomat identified “terrorist threats” as one of the “quadruple” threats that Afghanistan is facing now: The other three being humanitarian crisis, economic chaos and governance difficulties.

Wang said overcoming these challenges requires “more understanding and support from the international community”.

Wang expressed his hope that the Afghan Taliban will further demonstrate openness and tolerance, unite all ethnic groups and factions in Afghanistan to work together for peaceful reconstruction, and effectively protect the rights and interests of women and children.

“The Chinese official also urged the Taliban to adopt a friendly policy towards its neighbouring countries, and build a modern country that conforms to the wishes of the people as well as the trend of the times,” the Xinhua report said.

Wang urged the US and the West as a whole to lift sanctions, and called on all parties to engage with the Afghan Taliban in a rational and pragmatic manner to help Afghanistan embark on a path of healthy development.

Among the first countries to establish contact with the Taliban government, Beijing also announced a 200 million yuan ($31million) aid comprising food and vaccines for Afghanistan in September

In July-end, two weeks before the Kabul takeover, Baradar led a delegation to Tianjin where he had met Wang when the latter had said that the Taliban had an important role to play in Afghanistan’s future.

China has said in the past – which Wang reiterated at the meeting – that Beijing will not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

On his part, during the Monday meeting, Baradar told Wang that the Afghan Taliban is willing to strengthen the efforts to protect the rights and interests of women and children, and will not deprive them of the rights to education and work.

“For now, women in medical institutions, airports and other places have resumed their work, and girls in primary and secondary schools in many provinces have returned to school, but they still face difficulties such as lack of facilities and funds,” Baradar was quoted as saying in the Xinhua report.

The Taliban government has taken and will continue to take inclusive measures to expand the representation of the regime, Baradar said, citing that “…most officials and technocrats of the former government have stayed in office, and more talents of all ethnic groups will be recruited to participate in the state governance in the future”.

During his stay in Doha, Wang will also meet with Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.