Afghanistan has great importance in the world due to its strategic location on the world map. This land is rich in resources like Gold, Oil, Uranium, Coal, and other minerals. It also connects the Central Asia with Indian Ocean. As when the US president Obama announced the withdrawal of American troops with Afghanistan in 2014, China played more active role in Afghanistan to fulfill the vacuum of power. China was one of the main powers in the South Asia to fulfill this vacuum and serve their interest in the country. China for these reasons started engaging with the Afghan government.
In 2014 security and intelligence cooperation increased between both countries. Public security deputy chief of staff of China visited Afghanistan. Both countries agreed for patrolling on border in which China also offered mountain bridge to Afghan national forces. In 2014 the multi-level conference was held in China in which 30 states took part. The conference was organized to discuss the security, development, and governance challenges in the region.
In 2015 China and Pakistan tried to make deal with Talban and Afghan government, the meeting was held in Xinjiang, this meeting to bring peace and try to negotiate with each other but the meeting failed due to the sudden news of the death of Mullah Omar came out. The news stated that he has died in the 2013 but the Afghan government didn’t know about this earlier. In 2016 both China and Pakistan decided to expand the CPEC towards Afghanistan.
In 2021 when US withdrew the forces completely and Taliban took over the control of Kabul 0n 15 August 2021, China gave a warm welcome to the Taliban new regime in Afghanistan and said that this is choice of Afghan people. China also opens their embassy in Afghanistan. China engaged more with Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Chinese interests in Afghanistan:
China has many interests in Afghanistan to get fulfiled for which they are working with Taliban regime. These interests range from security to economic to political interest in the country.
Security interest:
On the bordering regions of China and Afghanistan, Muslim population is residing. China has threat from Uyghur separatist movement which demands separate state in Xinjian province. The East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) has haven in Afghanistan, which can help them by providing support. China demands Taliban regime not to allow the ETIM movement inside Afghanistan from where they can attack on China. China is increasing its engagement with Taliban regime to fulfill their interest in Afghanistan.
Moreover, China has got chance to fulfill the vacuum left by the US in Afghanistan. China is the powerful state in the South Asia so it is the only country which can fulfil US left vacuum in Afghanistan. That’s why China gave warm welcome to Taliban new regime as it is unrecognized in the world China also didn’t recognize the Taliban new regime, but China developed more strong engagement with Taliban regime.
China tried to make Afghanistan stable by which the region will get secured in the context to future. Afghanistan have always been haven for terrorist as Al-Qaeda, ETIM, Islamic State of Khorasan province (IS_KP), and Tahreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) due to which the region can get unstable and terrorism increases day by day in South Asia but now due to Doha agreement and pressure from China to control and stop the terrorist group in the Afghanistan.
Economic interest:
Afghanistan is rich soil of resources in which there is gold, diamond, uranium, oil, and gas these resources available. According to US geologist there are $1 trillion resources in Afghanistan, but the spoke person of Taliban regime claimed that there are $3 trillion Dollar resources present in Afghanistan.
China’s aim is to utilize these resources for Afghanistan Chinese economy, by utilizing these resources both economies will be strengthened in the future. The Chinese company started investing in Afghanistan in two new projects launch in Ammu Darya Basin whish is the oil project in which one project is almost successful and reach to the oil. Two more companies also working Jangxi Copper Company and Metallurgical Company of China.
Another economic interest of China in Afghanistan is to spread the BRI towards Afghanistan and the Wakhan corridor which can play important role to connect China’s province with Xinjiang with Afghanistan province Badakhshan. This project will help both countries for free trade and increase economic connection in the region. According to some official news the Afghan and China official claimed that soon the Wakhan corridor will be open marking trade on this route.
China also gave different aid to Afghanistan after the Taliban new regime took control. As their earthquake occurred in that China gave aid and other eating and sanitation aid to Afghan people. So, China due to its security and economic interest is speedily increasing their engagement with Taliban new Regime.
Threat from anti-Taliban:
After the Taliban take over the Kabul in 2021 different anti-Taliban groups emerged in Afghanistan against the Taliban regime. Such groups are National Resistance Front (NRF) lead by Ahmed Massoud – the son of former Soviet Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud and by Amrullah Saleh the former Afghan vice president. They are against Taliban regime as it Pashtun dominant regime. The group aims to secure right of minorities such Tajik, Hazara and Uzbek in the country. This group has launched attacks different times on Taliban posts and leaders after the takeover of Taliban.
Islamic State of Khorasan province:
This group is affiliate of ISIS they are against Taliban, as they are Salafist in ideology, and they are against the foreign involvement in the country. ISKP ideology is very strict as they need to make strong and pure Shariah system in the country. The group still exist in Afghanistan with the same number as at the time of war on terror. The group is also active against US and the Afghan government in the country. Now they are posing threat to Taliban regime and China’s investment in Afghanistan. They have also attacked on Pakistan’s embassy and a Hotel in Kabul in which Chinese official were residing.
These two groups are posing serious threat to Taliban regime and to China’s investment in the country. This is not a good sign towards the Afghanistan stability and stability of the region, as ISKP has potential to again destabilize Afghanistan and make threat to Taliban regime and make the region unstable.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, China’s engagement with Afghanistan is driven by a blend of security concerns and economic aspirations. The desire to curb the influence of the ETIM and other extremist groups aligns with China’s broader national security strategy, while the pursuit of Afghanistan’s resource wealth and strategic geographical position underscores its economic interests. Navigating the delicate balance of supporting the Taliban regime while safeguarding its investments will be crucial for China as it seeks to solidify its influence in the region and integrate Afghanistan into its broader strategic and economic framework.
Heer Biyar Ahmed
Heer Biyar Ahmed is a dedicated student of International Relations at Bahria University, Islamabad, specializing in South Asian politics with a keen focus on Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, and India.
