China has urged its citizens not to travel to Afghanistan following a deadly ISIS attack in Kabul, warning that the country’s security situation is highly complex and dangerous.
In a statement issued on Monday, China’s embassy in Kabul said Chinese nationals already in Afghanistan should strengthen security measures and avoid crowded places such as hotels, religious sites and large markets. The embassy also urged citizens to closely monitor local security conditions and enhance safety precautions at their residences and while travelling.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Beijing had lodged its concerns with the Taliban and urged them to take more effective steps to protect Chinese citizens, projects and institutions in Afghanistan. He also called on the Taliban to swiftly clarify the circumstances of the attack and punish those responsible.
The warning followed an explosion in Kabul’s Shahr-e Naw area on Monday that killed at least seven people and wounded 13 others, according to Taliban officials. At least one of the dead was a Chinese national. The attack was claimed by Islamic State Khorasan Province.
According to Taliban officials, a suicide bomber entered a Chinese restaurant in Shahr-e Naw and detonated explosives among Chinese citizens and their guards. ISIS’s Amaq News Agency claimed that 25 people, including Chinese nationals, Taliban members and Afghan civilians, were killed, a figure that could not be independently verified.
In its statement, ISIS-K said Chinese citizens were targeted over what it described as China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims. Taliban authorities said the Chinese national killed in the attack was a Muslim from China’s Xinjiang region, identified as Abdul Rahman.
Afghanistan International earlier reported, citing eyewitnesses and video footage, that a suicide bomber targeted Chinese nationals at the China Lanzhou Beef Noodle restaurant in Shahr-e Naw.
Chinese Presence in Afghanistan
Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, China has expanded cooperation with the group, particularly in the extraction of Afghanistan’s mineral resources. Chinese companies have signed major contracts in the copper, oil, gold and coal sectors, and dozens of Chinese firms and hundreds of businesspeople have entered the country.
No official figures have been released on the number of Chinese workers and investors currently in Afghanistan. Last year, Pakistan’s Center for Research and Security Studies reported that about 100 Chinese companies had registered with the Taliban Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, and nearly 500 Chinese businesspeople had entered Afghanistan to explore investment opportunities, mainly in mining.
Mining activities have drawn criticism from Afghans over a lack of transparency, environmental damage and failure to meet international standards.
Attacks on Chinese Nationals
Over the past four and a half years, several attacks have targeted Chinese citizens in Afghanistan and nearby border regions, most of them claimed by ISIS-K and often linked to China’s policies toward Uyghur Muslims.
January 2026: Suicide attack on a Chinese restaurant in central Kabul killed at least one Chinese national.
January 2026: China urged citizens to leave Afghanistan–Tajikistan border areas after clashes near the border.
December 2025: Five Chinese nationals killed and five wounded in two attacks near the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border.
January 2025: A Chinese national identified as Li was killed in Takhar province.
November 2024: One Chinese national killed and four wounded in an attack on Chinese workers at a gold mine near the Tajikistan border.
December 2022: Gunmen attacked a hotel in Kabul’s Shahr-e Naw district, killing at least three people and wounding 18 others, including five Chinese nationals. ISIS-K claimed responsibility.
China has repeatedly urged the Taliban to improve security for foreign nationals, particularly Chinese citizens working on economic and infrastructure projects in Afghanistan.
