China-Taliban relations

While Chinese investment is rising, particularly in the mining sector, the operations face both local pushback and logistical headaches.

Beijing has sought to press the Taliban, on behalf of Pakistan, to deal with the TTP. The Taliban remain unmoved. 

China has vastly increased economic engagement with Afghanistan as it eyes a new node in the Belt and Road Initiative. 

The dynamics of this trilateral relationship will shape the future trajectory of Afghanistan and its broader implications for regional stability and prosperity.

While still short of formal diplomatic recognition, the move is part of a trend of growing engagement driven by the strategic interests of both sides.

The Taliban are focusing on the countries that are most likely to be interested in investing in Afghanistan, notwithstanding its human rights record or potential for violence. 

The specter of insecurity in Afghanistan has been replaced by a lack of governance and widespread incompetence. Investors from China or any other country can be expected to be deeply wary.

China's new ambassadorial appointment lays the groundwork for intensified cooperation between China and Afghanistan. That will have implications for Pakistan as well.

New Ambassador Zhao Sheng was given the royal treatment in Kabul, as China continues to be the Taliban regime's most important foreign partner.

China’s active engagement in the country's affairs is driven by Afghanistan’s strategic position at the crossroads of Central and South Asia, coupled with its abundant natural resources.

Insights from Claudia Chia. 

China is not the first to try to buy stability in Afghanistan. Will Beijing succeed where the U.S. and USSR failed?

Wang said China hopes the Taliban-appointed Afghan interim government will "take solid steps in the right direction.”

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has indeed provided China an opportunity, but there’s little evidence that Beijing has any concrete plan to address the country’s problems. 

The Taliban's new deal is actually a repeat of a previous contract signed by the former Republic government with CNPC in 2011. That deal's fate should temper expectations.

Far from inheriting an opportunity, China finds itself encumbered with an ever-expanding roster of problems in Afghanistan, which it is showing little interest in trying to resolve or own.

Chinese interests in expanding its engagement in Afghanistan lies in opportunist thinking.

China has little interest in providing global leadership on the Afghanistan issue, especially when selective engagement seems to be paying off.

China’s willingness to partner with the Taliban undermines American efforts to influence the extremist group’s behavior through pressure campaigns and sanctions.

Afghanistan has been partially successful in boosting stability, improving livelihoods, and protecting human rights, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's surprise trip to Afghanistan was a clear sign that China is ready to engage with the Taliban as a normal government.

Wang Yi’s visit marked one of the highest-level engagements for the Taliban regime – and came just a day after the Taliban broke a promise to allow older girls to attend school.

As the Taliban courts China with nascent regulations on Uyghur militants, ISK is trying to capitalize by boosting recruitment of Uyghurs.

Insights from Claudia Chia.