China will be yet another empire in Afghanistan’s graveyard

Washington: Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen has called on China to invest in Afghanistan as soon as possible, saying it considers China, a friend. The Taliban spokesman also assured that the Taliban would provide security to Chinese investors and employees. However, ‘China’s empire will also surely fail in Afghanistan’s graveyard. I would love to see China get mired into Afghanistan. It is going to be fun to watch,’ said Gordon Chang, a senior US analyst.

President Joe Biden has announced the US withdrawal from Afghanistan would be completed by August 31. China is expected to swoop in, taking advantage of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. However, Chinese government mouthpiece and analysts have claimed that China will not fall into Afghanistan’s trap, unlike Soviet Russia and the United States, which have failed in Afghanistan. For that, we have the support from a cooperative country like Pakistan, Chinese analysts emphasized.

Reports suggest that Chinese leaders also trust Pakistan. China has called on Pakistan to cooperate in establishing stability in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal. Also, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed establishing trilateral cooperation with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Gordon Chang, a senior US analyst, reacted to China’s ongoing ambitious move on Afghanistan.

‘After the US withdrawal, the opportunity to flex its muscles in Afghanistan has shifted to a deceitful country like China. But even if it looks like a good opportunity, it doesn’t mean that it will succeed in Afghanistan,’ Gordon Chang has claimed. He went on to warn that ‘China has its eye on Afghanistan’s gold, uranium, lithium and other mineral resources. To achieve it, China is working to link the $62 billion CPEC project in Pakistan that links Peshawar to Kabul. China will succeed in taking the project to Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the aftermath will be much greater than China expects.’

‘Chinese officials have been secretly cooperating with the Haqqani network for the past few years to secure their interests in Afghanistan. With the help of this Haqqani network, China detained anti-Chinese Uyghur and Turkic minorities in Afghanistan. If China wants the Taliban to turn a blind eye to action against the Uyghur and Turkish minorities, that will not happen,’ Chang said. Gordon Chang reminded China that ‘although [the Chinese] are vicious, I don’t think that they’re as vicious as the elements [the Taliban] that they’re going to face.

US analyst Chang underscored that ‘Since the Taliban‘s founding in 1996 and even after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, China has fully supported the group. China will benefit to some extent from this assistance over the years. But the Taliban is not the only challenge it needs to overcome to succeed in Afghanistan. China will face many challenges in the country, including armed supporters and opponents and many other obstacles, including persistent ongoing violence.

‘India will use its agents to destroy China in Afghanistan’s graveyard. Besides, the association and cooperation between China and the Haqqani network had been exposed by Indian intelligence agencies,’ Chang noted. Moreover, Chang suggested that India could intimidate China in Afghanistan to make it pay the price of its aggression at India’s LAC in Ladakh last year.

‘Even if China believes it can make many moves because it is affluent, it will be another empire in Afghanistan’s graveyard, and it will be fun to watch,’ Chang said.

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