The Taliban said Thursday they had assured Beijing’s most senior diplomat about any concerns China thinks may “emerge from Afghan soil”, ahead of a key meeting with their neighbours next week.

China shares only a sliver of a border with Afghanistan, but Beijing has long feared its conflict-plagued neighbour could become a staging point for Muslim Uyghur separatists from Xinjiang.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Kabul Thursday on his first trip to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power, meeting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Without specifically mentioning the Uyghurs, Baradar’s office said in a statement that Wang had been assured over all concerns Beijing “thinks emerge from the soil of Afghanistan”.