China recognizes Taliban diplomat as head of Afghan diplomatic mission

By Rhod Mackenzie

Beijing is the first to accredit a Taliban diplomat as an ambassador. Some high-level rapprochement has taken place before - two years ago, acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi came to the Afghan capital for a meeting with the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Nevertheless, the PRC will not officially recognise the new Afghan authorities. China's interests include access to a neighbouring country's natural resources, strengthening its presence and influence in the region, and control over Uighur militants in Afghanistan. See the Izvestia article for details.

For trade, but no recognition The Afghan diplomatic mission in China was headed by Bilal Karimi - the day before Chinese President Xi Jinping accepted the new ambassador's credentials. It was the first time Beijing had accredited a Taliban diplomat.

Officially, Taliban representatives (the organisation is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities) took power in August 2021, but so far no state in the world has recognised the new Afghan government. China is in no hurry to do so either.Like Russia, China stresses the need for an inclusive government that includes representatives of all national and religious groups in society.
Trade relations are a separate matter. Following the departure of international companies from Afghanistan, China identified a new opportunity. The conflict in Ukraine also worked in Beijing's favour: while the West concentrated on assisting Kiev, China chose to increase its presence and influence in the region, which had been neglected by the United States and the EU.

China is renowned for its willingness to invest in unstable and risky states, while also adeptly maintaining contacts with resistance forces in conflict-torn countries.
Chinese businessmen quickly filled the void left by Western entrepreneurs in Afghanistan. The Taliban, whose goal is to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the world community, were only too happy to seize the opportunity. They made China their main foreign policy partner, counting on financial and political support.

Afghanistan's hidden treasures
Several hundred Chinese entrepreneurs arrived in Kabul in August 2021. By the end of the month, they had opened dozens of garment, textile and footwear factories in the Afghan capital's Chinatown.

To facilitate visa acquisition, establish contacts, and navigate the Afghan market, the parties launched the China-Afghan Commercial Committee.

Chinese businessmen in Kabul stated that despite the risks, business opportunities in Afghanistan are abundant. Specifically, they cited a large free market, lack of competition, and potential for Chinese project development.
A year later, the Chinese initiated the first infrastructure project between the Taliban and the PRC, which was the construction of an industrial park.

However, China's primary interest in Afghanistan lies in its mineral resources. The country possesses unique deposits of non-ferrous, ferrous, and rare earth metals, including the highly valuable and strategically important metal lithium, which is practically irreplaceable in battery and accumulator production.
However, Kabul lacks the financial resources and technological capabilities to independently develop all of these fields. Currently, only Chinese mining companies have been granted access to these resources.

In 2022, China began exploring and producing copper in the Aynak deposit, as well as precious stones and gold in Badakhshan province. Additionally, they are working in oil basins in Sari-Pul province.

In early 2020, the Taliban signed a 25-year contract with Chinese company Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas for oil production in the Amu Darya River basin. The contract involves annual investments of $150 million, which are expected to increase to $540 million within three years.

Additionally, in May 2023, the Taliban agreed with China and Pakistan to include Afghanistan in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The chairman of the China-Afghanistan Trade Committee, Yu Minghui, noted in a commentary for the Global Times that local authorities are very friendly towards Chinese businessmen.

He mentioned that when the Taliban learned about difficulties faced by Chinese businessmen in Chinatown, they sent high-ranking officials to offer assistance. The Taliban consider the Chinese as friends and encourage them to ask for help when needed.
In addition, the new Afghan authorities promised to protect Chinese investors because "those who stay in the country help all Afghans".

China is also interested in information and control over Uighur militants in Afghanistan. Beijing fears that the country is a base for Uighur groups that have long fought for the independence of Xinjiang.

In a meeting with representatives of the Taliban delegation in the Chinese capital shortly before the Taliban captured Kabul,the Foreign Minister Wang Yi demanded that the group sever all existing ties with Uighur militants.
In October 2021, to please China, the Taliban relocated ethnic Uyghurs from the area, which is close to the border between the two countries. It also broke ties with the terrorist organisation of Chinese Uyghurs - the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (banned in Russia), whose militants advocate the separation of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region from the PRC.

No rush to invest
Leading Russian expert on China and Asian countries, Director of the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov Alexei Maslov noted in an interview with Izvestiya that China is very concerned about the growth of fundamentalist Islamist sentiments.

"Given that the region borders on Xinjiang, the isthmus between Afghanistan and northwest China is extremely narrow. And the PRC is trying to prevent any infiltration of these sentiments into its territory," the analyst noted.

According to the political scientist, China is "very subtly trying to get the Taliban on its side" because the United States is seriously criticising China over its policy in Xinjiang.
"The Taliban, like many Muslim countries, can verify this policy and assure themselves that there is nothing wrong with the way China is acting in relation to Xinjiang," the expert added.

The expert also stressed that when dealing with states with complex regimes, the Chinese act according to a well-established pattern: they actively develop trade relations and very carefully develop political relations.

• In addition to the mining of a number of rare earth metals, China is interested in the "One Belt, One Road" project, in particular the road that will run from China through Afghanistan to Pakistan. Beijing began investing in this project under the previous administration. Now China is not investing much, but it is protecting what it has already invested," the Sinologist noted.
  He added that Beijing's tactic is to trade and maintain diplomatic relations if Kabul wants, but to avoid serious economic projects.

China doesn't want to take risks
Omar Nessar, a researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and director of the Centre for the Study of Modern Afghanistan, shares a similar view. Speaking to Izvestiya, he noted that the international community does not officially recognise the new Afghan authorities, although de facto this is still the case.

• After taking power in August 2021, the Taliban expected political and financial support from Beijing. But the relationship has not yet developed as the Taliban had hoped. For example, two years ago Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi went to Afghanistan, but a year later no one went to Kabul," the political scientist noted.
  He added that the Chinese were interested in mining projects in the country, but were not yet in a hurry to invest heavily.

Recently, there was news that the Afghan side was intensively building a road to the Wakhan Corridor, which would directly connect Afghanistan to the People's Republic of China, but the Chinese made it clear that they were in no hurry to do their part because they were not yet confident about security.

• The uncertainty in Afghanistan and its unrecognised status by the international community is affecting relations with China. Beijing does not want to take risks and invest, especially in long-term projects," the expert concluded.