A top U.S. diplomat will meet this week in China to discuss issues in Afghanistan with his Chinese, Russian and Pakistani counterparts, the Chinese foreign ministry and the State Department said on Tuesday. (https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Afghanistan-turmoil/China-U.S.-Russia-and-Pakistan-to-hold-talks-on-Afghanistan) The U.S. understands that China has invited Taliban representatives to the talks in Tunxi, a State Department spokesperson said. Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong will host the meeting, said Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in Tunxi for the talks, Interfax news agency cited a ministry spokeswoman as saying late on Tuesday. Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, will attend the talks of the so-called Extended Troika: the three world powers plus Pakistan, the State Department spokesperson said.