Afghanistan and Chinese Relations

Afghanistan and Chinese Relations

Ashley Audette and Chantel McLeod - Main Article Contributors and Team Members Examining the Afghanistan-Pakistan Region

With the impending exit of the United States forces from Afghanistan and the decreasing degree of support from American forces in the region, it only seems rational that Afghanistan’s political strategy has included seeking out assistance from another great power. In recent months Afghanistan has been increasing its contact with China and attempting to build stronger relations and ties with the nation.

The Afghani government under President Ashraf Ghani has in recent years responded to China’s inquest and investment into the Middle Eastern country with open arms. Despite limited border connection between the two countries (the Wakhan Corridor having been closed to majority of traffic for nearly a century1) the Afghani region is attracting much of China’s attention for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, Afghanistan’s rich natural resource deposit continues to spark Chinese interest, motivating Chinese investment and development involvement. Afghanistan’s location is also strategically important due to its presence in both Central and Southern Asia, and is important also due to concerns with links between Muslim populations in Xinjiang as well as the Taliban presence in Afghanistan2. Because of the crucial locations of these populations, a stable Afghanistan is definitely in the best interests of Beijing. Between now and 2017, China has offered approximately $300 million in investment, as well as professional training for 3000 Afghans and 500 scholarships to students. With these concerns and interests in mind, the future could establish strong newly formed trade and economic ties between the two, fueling Chinese expansion and economic strength further ahead of the hegemon United States.

As the United States leaves Afghanistan there is no doubt that the country is a much better place than it was prior to the United States military intervention, when it was under the Taliban regime. However, this does not necessarily indicate that Afghanistan is prepared to go without assistance from other, more powerful countries.

It appears as though the Afghanistan is quite strategic in the timing of their decision to strengthen ties with their neighbour. Ashraf Ghani’s goal is for Beijing to “that Beijing could offset the decline in American and Western support”3 as the Afghan government is still not at the point of being fiscally self-sufficient and does not have the ability to combat “Pakistan-backed Taliban insurgency”4. The objective here is to bring the militants to the negotiating table5. The benefits are not limited to Afghanistan only; there are also benefits to this relationship for China as well. Of the great powers China is currently the only one with a legitimate

incentive to support and assist Afghanistan, as Beijing has recently invested a great deal in copper and oil in the Afghan region and have agreed to continue investing about $3 billion in the industry6.
Unlike the United States when entering Afghanistan, the Chinese seek to impose no democratic or ideological interests of any kind, and simply wish to focus on building relationships economically. In future, this strictly investment driven relationship with the Afghans will likely see an even stronger Chinese economy, and leave Afghanistan in much better shape economically than seen at the end of the American “Operation Enduring Freedom” (OEF).