The “China Town” complex, which houses several Chinese companies in Kabul, January 28, 2024 (AFP/Wakil KOHSAR)
The first and only country to date to have appointed an ambassador to Afghanistan since the return of the Taliban, whose government is not recognized by any capital, China is advancing its pawns among its Central Asian neighbor.
Ministerial meetings, discussions on the growth of bilateral trade and on a gigantic Chinese investment in copper, opening of a road between the two countries, Beijing maintains ongoing relations with a country widely considered a pariah in the world.
“The United States has completely turned away from Afghanistan, the European Union remains inflexible on attacks on the rights of Afghan women, so the Chinese say ‘it’s our turn'”, explains a former diplomat familiar with this country.
“Fundamentally, China doesn’t care about women’s rights, if its interest is to get closer to the Taliban regime, it is not going to put conditions there,” believes Valérie Niquet, of the Foundation for Strategic Research, in Paris.
On the diplomatic level, China provided its support at the end of December to Afghanistan by being the only one of the 15 members of the UN Security Council with Russia to abstain during the vote on a resolution on the appointment of a special envoy, who the Taliban do not want to hear about.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried in December to downplay the significance of the appointment of Ambassador Zhao Xing in Kabul, hoping that “Afghanistan will better meet the expectations of the international community.”
A seller arranges his stall of Chinese household appliances, January 28, 2024 in Kabul (AFP/Wakil KOHSAR)
But the Chinese approach, as acrobatic as it may be – exchange of ambassadors without official recognition – indeed allows Beijing to have diplomatic relations with an isolated country, whose assets are frozen in the West and whose leaders are under sanctions. international.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan “is difficult terrain, but the characteristic of the Chinese is to go where no one goes, trying to obtain advantages”, estimates Valérie Niquet.
“The Chinese are reaching out to the Afghans, who need all the help they can get.”
– Natural resources –
“The vast natural resources of Afghanistan, such as copper, lithium or rare earths, have great economic potential for China,” notes Jalal Bazwan, professor of political science at Kardan University in Kabul.
The archaeological site of Mes Aynak, in the Afghan province of Logar, May 17, 2022 (AFP/Archives/Wakil KOHSAR)
Thus, upon his installation in December, the Afghan ambassador to Beijing, Bilal Karimi, held discussions with the Chinese public company MCC on Mes Aynak, the second largest copper deposit in the world, 40 km from Kabul .
MCC obtained the operating rights in 2008, under the government of Hamid Karzai, for $3.5 billion.
The project was paralyzed by war and insecurity as well as the discovery of a priceless Buddhist archaeological site.
“We are in the process of negotiating with the Chinese,” Hamayoon Afghan, spokesperson for the Ministry of Mines, told AFP.
“These historical properties are a cultural treasure for Afghanistan, its identity,” he says, 23 years after the Taliban stunned the planet by dynamiting the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
An Afghan interministerial commission is studying an MCC proposal to dig 800 meters deep, to reach the copper veins without damaging the surface site.
A Taliban flag flies over the Afghan embassy in Beijing, August 16, 2022 (AFP/Archives/Noel CELIS)
Thirsty for hydrocarbons, China is also interested in Afghan oil.
Since the renegotiation in January 2023, for 25 years, of an old contract in the Amu basin (north-west), Sino-Afghan extraction has started in 18 wells, indicates Mr. Afghan.
Still in energy, Chinese companies have just expressed their intention to invest half a billion dollars in solar power in Afghanistan.
– New Silk Roads –
Furthermore, a 300 km road which will link Badakshan (north-east) to the Chinese border is under construction, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Works, Ashraf Haqshanas, told AFP.
The two countries share a border of only 76 km and this axis will allow the growth of trade, which remains modest, with 1.5 billion dollars per year.
But the security of its investments is crucial for China. The deadly assault by the Islamic State group, in December 2022, against a hotel in Kabul housing Chinese people, shocked Beijing.
“The Taliban assured China that they would prevent Afghan soil from being used for terrorist attacks against its neighbors,” said Mr. Bazwan, referring to the latent rebellion of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang.
Finally, as part of this rapprochement, Beijing is exercising its “soft power” over Afghanistan by delivering humanitarian aid, particularly after the October earthquake in Herat (west).
A Chinese-made electric tricycle on sale in Kabul, January 28, 2024 (AFP/Wakil KOHSAR)
In Kabul, we see a modest Chinese presence in “Chinatown”, two buildings where cheap Chinese products are sold.
“The Belt and Road” is written in red letters at the top of the building, in reference to the new Silk Roads project of road, rail and maritime routes between China and Central Asia. and Europe.
The integration of Afghanistan into this titanic network is under discussion.
“The strategic position of Afghanistan along the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative makes it an attractive partner,” said Mr. Bazwan, at a time when Beijing “seeks to extend its influence and open up new markets in Central and South Asia.
Afghanistan could also integrate into the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor leading to the port of Gwadar (south), in Balochistan, a strategic outlet for China on the Arabian Sea.
© 2024 AFP
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