(MENAFN- Afghanistan Times) By Seddiq Hussainy
Since years, China has been striving to revitalize the
ancient Silk Road and expand it into a global trade network to connect its
southernmost parts to Central Asia and South and Southeast Asia, Eurasia, and
Europe. But Afghanistan has been peripheral to China's intercontinental project
because drastic security conditions have made it impossible to pursue a serious
economic agenda there.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which is a vast network
of infrastructure projects spans more than 60 countries. But the BRI largely
excludes Afghanistan, moving through Central Asia and Pakistan instead.
Although there have been painstaking efforts in place by the
Afghan government to make the BRI happen in the war-wracked country, the speed
of the project has remained snail-paced considering the security and political
turmoil. Alas, as Afghanistan's allies are reaching a negotiated settlement
with the radical Taliban to put an end to an 18-year insurgency and with these
negotiations edging toward a concrete conclusion, peace may now be on the
horizon.
For Beijing, peace would not only reduce the terrorist
threat emanating from Afghanistan, but it could also boost Chinese economic
activity. It will give rise to an era when there will be no hindrance to
implementation of the Belt and Road and a vast chunk of investment is funneled
into Afghanistan for building transit routes and other infrastructure projects.
With the war in Afghanistan winding down, China seems willing to make
Afghanistan a bigger part of its regional ambitions.
The ground realities have also manifested China's will to
establish its grip by simply engaging in trade and economic activities. In
2016, China and Afghanistan entered a new phase of economic cooperation;
Beijing and Kabul signed a MoU on the BRI then and the first Chinese cargo
train carrying goods valued at $20 million arrived in the northern Afghan port
city of Hairatan after about two weeks of journey via Kazakhstan and
Uzbekistan.
Since then, China has been planning to send two trains per
month to carry textiles, electronic products and construction materials to
Afghanistan. Moreover, Kabul-Urumqi direct flight was resumed – after being
closed at the end of 2012 – and there is a flight every once in a week from
Kabul to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and vice
versa cutting travel time between the two cities from 13 hours to 3 hours.
China is also Afghanistan's largest business investor, it
has pledged increasing amounts of aid to the country, and Chinese companies have
been involved in construction projects. China will be able to potentially use
the opportunity to cut transit costs and time and obtain easy access to South
Asia and Europe. A trade and transit feat under an ambitious BRI megaproject in
the continent is highly unlikely if Afghanistan is not a significant part of it
and if the strategically significant land-locked country is bypassed.
Afghanistan has huge potential energy and a lot more to
offer in terms of access to regional trade routes. It is the shortest route
between Central Asia and South Asia, and between China and the Middle East,
while also serving as a gateway to the Arabian Sea. The mineral-rich country
has a serious infrastructure deficit, making it an ideal candidate for Chinese
investment.
Seddiq Hussainy works as Sub-editor with Afghanistan Times
and is currently in Beijing
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