Durrani–Qing relations

Between the Durrani Empire and the Qing dynasty, there were numerous encounters throughout the 18th century that nearly escalated to military conflict. Afghan Emperor Ahmad Shah Durrani and Qing Emperor Qianlong corresponded with each other by letters, including a dispatched Afghan embassy that reached Beijing to open relations between the two empires. The Afghans initially refused to kowtow, harming relations from its onset. Following the Afghan embassy's withdrawal, Qianlong began preparing for potential conflict. Later, Afghan forces invaded Badakhshan, a Qing vassal state. The Qing refused to aid their vassal, recognizing their own weakness in the Altishahr region.

The encounter initially stemmed from numerous Islamic Central Asian chieftains, including the ruler of the Khanate of Kokand pleading to Ahmad Shah to halt Qing expansion in the region. Ahmad Shah utilized this to send an embassy to the Qing, propagating his own legitimacy and possibly intending to divide spheres of influence across Asia with the Qing. The embassy returned ultimately unsuccessful, leaving relations unestablished.

In 1768, Ahmad Shah dispatched his general, Shah Wali Khan, to invade Badakhshan, a then Qing vassal state. Despite the invasion being an effective threat to the Qing themselves and persuasion from Qing generals and agents, Qianlong did not intervene, and instead justified the Afghan attack. Qing forces were overextended, while extreme distance as well as lack of stability in the region prevented a military campaign, forcing the Qing to instead focus on their own harsh terrain to prevent an Afghan invasion.

The encounters entered Qing historiography and art, with numerous poems, and decorative fans being created. Famous paintings by Giuseppe Castiglione had also recorded Afghan gifts to the Qing court, the Four Afghan Steeds.