China’s state media mocked the US withdrawal in Afghanistan, saying the Taliban takeover was ‘more smooth than the presidential transition in the US’

• China’s state media said the “power transition” in Afghanistan was smoother than the US presidential transfer of powers.
• The opinion was tweeted by Hu Xijin, the editor of the Global Times, part of China’s state media.
• Hu referenced posts on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, that compared the Capitol riot to the Taliban’s takeover.
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China’s state media mocked the US troop withdrawal in Afghanistan, saying the Taliban’s takeover of the country was “more smooth” than the presidential transfer of powers in the US.

The opinion was tweeted out on August 15 by Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a state-affiliated media outlet in China.

-Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) August 15, 2021

Hu was referencing posts made on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter.

People made posts saying that the Taliban takeover was “peaceful” compared to the US Capitol riot on January 6. when a pro-Trump mob swarmed the Capitol, sieged the building, smashed and damaged property, and forced lawmakers into lockdown.

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan for Tajikistan on August 15, leaving his presidential palace open to Taliban fighters entering Kabul. On Sunday, fighters were seen inside the presidential palace, holding assault weapons and posing behind desks.

Ghani, who became president in 2014, made a Facebook post upon his departure, saying he “thought it was best to get out” to avoid a “flood of blood” in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital and its largest city.

The Taliban is now positioned to formally take hold of power in the country once again and declare it the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan following a complete withdrawal of American troops and the evacuation of US diplomats.

“What a joke. In Kabul today, the new government takeover was even more stable than when the US changed presidents,” wrote a Weibo user named Chen Zhen.

Some Weibo users also poked fun at the blame game currently unfolding between Biden and Trump on who should take responsibility for the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan’s major cities, making predictions about “what will happen next” in US politics.

One user with the ID DiGuaXiongLaoLiu wrote: “The script should read like this from here on. Step one: Trump asks Biden to resign and take responsibility for Afghanistan. Step two, Biden refuses to resign, and states supporting Trump will say if Biden doesn’t resign, they’ll leave the US! Step three, two years later the US government dissolves itself and becomes the Ameri-Russian Government.”