Chinese businesses have expressed interest in making investments in Afghanistan as part of the Belt and Road Initiative recently, but they face difficulties because of terrorism and instability, according to Voice of America (VOA).
In its position paper on Afghanistan, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs promised to “do its best” to aid in the country’s development and rehabilitation.
One of the centerpieces of the Belt and Road Initiative, which Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled in 2013, is the USD 62 billion CPEC connectivity project. According to VOA, the plan consists of a number of global infrastructure investments and initiatives with the goal of tying China to international trade.
According to the Bakhtar News Agency, Afghanistan’s official news agency, officials of Fan China Afghan Mining Processing and Trading Co. announced a USD 350 million investment in a number of sectors including construction, health, and energy during a meeting with Taliban representatives last week in Kabul.
The business is a partnership between Afghanistan’s Watan Group and China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co. (CAPEIC).
According to VOA, the Taliban and CAPEIC signed a contract in January to produce oil from the country’s north by investing USD 150 million annually.
During a meeting with Taliban representatives last week in Kabul, officials of Fan China Afghan Mining Processing and Trading Co. reportedly announced a USD 350 million investment in a number of sectors, including construction, health, and energy.
Watan Group of Afghanistan and Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co. (CAPEIC) of China are partners in the enterprise.
According to VOA, the Taliban and CAPEIC agreed to invest USD 150 million annually in order to generate oil from the country’s north.
Analysts claim that although an agreement to include Afghanistan in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) gave the Taliban a diplomatic victory, the project’s execution is still fraught with difficulties, according to VOA.
During a meeting of representatives from the three nations in Islamabad in May, “the three sides reaffirmed their resolve to fully harness Afghanistan’s potential as a hub for regional connectivity,” according to a joint statement.
Reaffirming their commitment to “furthering trilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and to jointly extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan,” the countries also pledged to “further the trilateral cooperation under the BRI.”
China has been outspoken in its criticism of the US for blocking Afghanistan’s assets ever since the US and NATO soldiers withdrew and the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021.
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