Afghanistan: China and Belt initiative could provide funding to Kabul, according to the report
China has stepped up its financial support for the Taliban government since the U.S. withdrew from the country by promising $ 31 million in emergency aid, and Kabul could end up joining the Beijing Strategic Belt and Road Initiative, according to a report.
There is a possibility that the Taliban will join the economic corridor between China and Pakistan, which is a key component of the BIS, Reuters reported. The report noted that Pakistan has also given humanitarian aid to Kabul after denying allegations that it has helped the Taliban fight Western forces for the past 20 years.
“The Taliban would like to join the CPEC, China would also be very happy,” Rustam Shah Mohmand, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan, told Reuters.
Nikkei Asia reported that Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, has already said the group wants to join the CPEC. A source told the media that China has been courting the Taliban since 2018 for possible projects in the country.
“There are verbal agreements between Beijing and the Taliban on investment,” the source said on the website. “Once the Taliban government obtains global recognition, China will begin building infrastructure projects in war-torn Afghanistan.”
President Biden has suggested that Western nations develop a plan to counter China’s initiative that has been expanding its influence in the region for years. In March, he spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the issue.
“I suggested that we should have, basically, a similar initiative, coming out of democratic states, helping those communities around the world that actually need help,” Biden said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the BRI program in 2013, creating the world’s largest infrastructure program with multi-trillion-dollar plans for international development and investment, according to the Foreign Relations Council.
The program originally aimed to unite the Asian superpower with neighboring countries, known in China as “One Belt, One Road” in honor of the Silk Road, but has reached agreements or investments in 139 countries, representing 40% of the world. GDP.