Xi Says Afghanistan ‘Indispensable’ to Regional Security
Michael Hughes
July 5, 2024
Chinese President Xi Jinping at the South Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana called on the bloc to boost humanitarian support and efforts to rebuild Afghanistan given its criticality to the region’s security.
The remarks come as the Taliban try to reassure the world the regime can crack down on terrorism, including IS-K and other outfits that pose a threat especially to neighbors in the region. Some terrorists under Taliban protection are aiming to strike at Xinjiang, China’s largest province-level division.
“Afghanistan is indispensable for the security in the region. We need to make best use of the mechanism of coordination and cooperation among Afghanistan’s neighbors and other platforms to increase humanitarian support to Afghanistan, and encourage Afghanistan to establish a broad-based and inclusive political structure and embark on a path of peace and reconstruction,” Xi said in a statement on July 4.
Xi said the world is changing in ways that fuel uncertainty and insecurity, driven by scientific, technological, and industrial transformation. The Chinese president said it is important to firmly maintain development paths in ways that suit “respective national conditions and regional realities,” – no doubt an acknowledgement of Afghan regime sensibilities and the Taliban’s own selective embrace of modernity.
Xi underscored that security is a prerequisite for national development and real security is premised on the security of all countries. He also urged the bloc to strengthen intelligence gathering to counter security threats. The SCO members among other measures adopted resolutions to establish cooperation programs to combat terrorism, separatism, and extremism.
Xi recently said China, for its part, will continue to play a role in helping Afghanistan deal with its issues. Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong told Iran’s IRNA that the international community must respect how the Taliban handle internal affairs. The Chinese diplomat reiterated the importance of refraining from any interference and advised against “imposing external solutions” on Afghanistan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on the SCO sidelines said the Taliban are Moscow’s “allies” in fighting terrorism and that Russia welcomes radical movement signals on readiness to work together on the anti-terrorist track. Moscow has hinted at dropping sanctions against the Taliban in exchange for antiterror assistance, arguing that the group is the de facto authorities of Afghanistan, and this reality will not change.
BEIJING’S END GAME IN AFGHANISTAN?
China fears Xinjiang could be targeted by the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a Uyghur extremist group. According to a UN Security Council report, ETIM has partnered with IS-K and is training jihadists on Afghan soil with ambitions of creating an “East Turkestan state” in Xinjiang. U.N. sanctions monitors reported in January 2024 that ETIM is headquartered in northwestern Afghanistan and yet the Taliban allegedly relocated ETIM militants away from the Afghan-Chinese border in response to Beijing’s concerns.
However, according to a recent report by The Hasht-e Subh Daily, ETIM commander Haji Furqan is residing in a guesthouse of Taliban interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani near Kabul. All Furqan’s expenses are being paid by Haqqani. Furqan, who married in Badakhshan, has obtained Afghan identity cards and passports under a false name. Furqan is also considered a senior member of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. ETIM leader and senior AQ member, Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, is also present in Afghanistan, the report added.
Beijing has provided Afghanistan with humanitarian assistance including food aid, while Chinese corporations have shown interest in exploration of Afghanistan’s natural resources. Hopes for boosting trade between the two countries have also been lifted by a 186-mile road being built that will connect Badakhshan to the Chinese border. Last year, China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co, or CAPEIC, inked a $540 million oil and gas extraction deal with the Taliban.
China has also targeted mineral extraction with a focus on Afghanistan’s lithium and copper deposits, although no yields have been evident. The Afghan mine ministry in April of 2023 said Chinese company Gochin expressed interest in investing $10 billion on a lithium venture. Beijing already has a 30-year copper mining lease it secured for $2.8 billion in 2007, however, work halted amid security issues and corruption allegations.
It is difficult to estimate, given the geotechnical and security hurdles China faces in developing Afghanistan’s resources, if Beijing’s objective is to keep Afghanistan stable or to simply corner the market on all the earth’s mineral resources. According to the USGS, China is already the leading producing nation for 29 of the world’s 43 most critical minerals, and accounts for about 70% of global rare earths production.
In the end, the Taliban have displayed an utter inability and unwillingness to effectively curb terrorist groups in general and specifically those with aims inimical to the interests of foreign actors. It is apparent that China – or any other SCO member – have yet to see any worthwhile return on investment.