Taliban to Join China's Belt and Road Forum

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.¹
• 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.¹
• This conference, which will attract leaders from around the world, including Russia's Vladimir Putin, marks the 10th anniversary of Pres. Xi Jinping's controversial initiative that has funded some $900B in infrastructure and other projects.²
• The Belt and Road Initiative was extended to Afghanistan in May in a trilateral deal to include the country in the $60B China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, as Kabul has sought Chinese investment after being cut off from the global financial system.³
• Last month, the Taliban — which hasn't been formally recognized by any foreign government — welcomed the new Chinese ambassador to Kabul, marking the first time that an envoy has been offered such a ceremony since the Taliban took over in 2021.⁴
• Earlier this week, the Chinese special representative for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, met with the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Central Asian country to discuss Afghanistan.⁵

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Bloomberg, ³Axios, ⁴Al Jazeera and ⁵Afghanistan International.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by The Free Press Journal. 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, as provided by Global Times. 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.

Predictions