China Hasn’t Given Up on the Belt and Road
Foreign AffairsNov 24, 2022
Taliban to Join China's Belt and Road Forum
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Image copyright: Government of the Philippines [via Wikimedia Commons]
The Facts
Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, told Reuters on Saturday that the acting minister, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, will travel to Beijing next week to attend China's Belt and Road Forum.
While Taliban officials and ministers have traveled to some regional meetings, particularly those focused on Afghanistan, the Belt and Road Forum is among the highest-profile summits in which they have been invited to participate.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
The Taliban's infamy hasn't stopped China from deepening ties with Kabul to create trouble for India and the US in order to expand its global influence and become the world's only superpower. Beijing has captured the Taliban by attracting the unrecognized government to the Belt and Road debt trap, positioning itself in a privileged place to exploit Afghanistan's mineral wealth.
Pro-China narrative
Despite years of occupation and billions of dollars allocated to their own forces and contractors, the US and its allies have clamorously failed the Afghan people. Now, the Chinese engagement with Afghanistan has brought hope for positive change because Beijing can help develop the country's power generation, agriculture, healthcare, education, and mining sector.
