As a result of what looks like a treasonous and carefully engineered defeat of the secular government in Afghanistan, America’s enemies — radical Islamists from the Taliban and Chinese Communist Party — are now partnering to their mutual benefit.
The Taliban’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in the interview to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica:
“China will be our main partner and represents a great opportunity for us because it is ready to invest in our country and support reconstruction efforts.”
H.E. Wang Yu, the Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan, has reportedly confirmed that China has already provided the Taliban with millions of dollars in aid for building hospitals, such as Jamhuriat Hospital, a solar power station in Bamyan Province, and other projects.
Mujahid said that the New Silk Road, or the One Belt One Road initiative (aka Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI), which seeks to connect China with more than 60 countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe through a massive land and maritime network, such as railways, roads, ports, and industrial parks, was held in “high regard” by the Taliban. The initiative spans some 60 percent of the world population and around a third of global gross domestic product. The globalist mouthpiece outlet Foreign Policy magazine estimates that in reality some 140 countries have signed on to China’s initiative, which is “increasing its influence and reach.” And now, resource-bursting Afghanistan is one of them.
Moreover, with Afghanistan on board, Beijing could get more reach by connecting Pakistan to Afghanistan by a Peshawar-to-Kabul motorway. The road, which is already reportedly being discussed, would create a much shorter land route to markets in the Middle East for Chinese exports. In addition to that, the new Kabul authorities are getting closely engaged with China on an extension of the $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — the flagship project of BRI, which includes the construction of highways, railways, and energy pipelines between Pakistan and China and further to Afghanistan, according to reports. Beijing has long tried to persuade Kabul to join, but only now, with anti-American forces at the helm, the project may start moving.
RAND Corporation also observes that Beijing’s logistical infrastructure advances in the region may be even more envy-worthy, as it is also building a major road through the Wakhan Corridor — a slim strip of mountainous territory connecting China’s westernmost province of Xinjiang to Afghanistan — and onward to Pakistan and Central Asia. This new road will complement its existing road network through the region. The think tank notes that once completed, these new thoroughfares will boost Beijing’s trade with the region and natural resource extraction in Afghanistan.
And on that point, Mujahid also said China will help Afghanistan fully utilize its natural resources, such as rich copper resources, and give the country a path into global markets. The Taliban is now in control of Afghanistan’s rare earth elements worth up to $3 trillion.
The Diplomat reports that Afghanistan, per The United States Geological Survey (USGS), may be sitting on 60 million metric tons of copper, 2.2 billion tons of iron ore, and 1.4 million tons of rare earth elements (REEs) such as lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, and veins of aluminium, gold, silver, zinc, mercury, and lithium. Then, there are precious stones, such as high-quality emeralds, rubies, sapphires, turquoise, and lapis lazuli that “have long charmed the gemstone market.”
Many of the minerals and REEs are essential in manufacturing high-tech goods, from electronics such as cell phones, computers, televisions, to lasers, satellites and aircrafts. Lithium, specifically, is a key ingredient in production of the lithium-ion batteries that are widely used in electric vehicles and the renewable energy industry. Moreover, REEs are crucial for the defense industry, and are necessary for the production of tank navigation systems, missile guidance systems, missile defense components, satellites, and military communications systems. Now, with Beijing eagerly offering its financial shoulder and political support, the Talibs may just as eagerly trade it for its natural resources.
Zhou Bo, formerly a Chinese military leader and politician, opined in The New York Times that “Beijing has few qualms about fostering a closer relationship with the Taliban and is ready to assert itself as the most influential outside player in Afghanistan all but abandoned by the United States.” Zhou continues that the Taliban, as a new government, will need some concrete foundation to reassert its recently acquired political power. And Beijing can offer them just that. Namely, what the Taliban needs the most is political impartiality and economic investment, Zhou believes. In turn, “Afghanistan has what China most values: opportunities in infrastructure and industry building — areas in which China’s capabilities are arguably unmatched — and access to $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits.”
Joe Biden has handed Afghanistan and all of its economic and geopolitical potential not just to the Islamic barbarians at the Taliban, which on its own is bad enough, but, further, to Communist China, which is keen enough to take full advantage of the generous prize landing in its hands. But don’t worry, America, they are good folks, and will not eat our lunch.
